Trade representatives from South and Southeast Asian countries have business talks and sign cooperation contracts with their Chinese counterparts at the second China-South Asia Economic Trade Cooperation Fair in Chengdu.

Event combines trade talks with showcase of Chinese commodities

A booming market in South Asia involving more than 10 billion yuan ($1.59 billion) worth of trade was the topic of a summit in Chengdu, capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province in late September.

A trade delegation of more than 200 people from seven South and Southeast Asian countries joined their Chinese counterparts for a series of trade talks conducted between hundreds of companies from China and other Asian countries from Sept 22 to 24 at the second China-South Asia Economic Trade Cooperation Fair.

At this commodities fair, all kinds of products from China were on display, including wine, tea, jewelry, medicine and sporting products. Many products made in Chengdu are very popular in South Asian countries because of their high quality and reasonable price, such as diesel vehicle engines and farm tractors.

"In the past, they could be exported to South Asian countries through other companies in China's coastal areas, like Guangdong province," said Li Guang, an official with the Chengdu Commerce Bureau who is in charge of economic cooperation with foreign countries.

"But these countries want to have direct cooperation with our companies in Chengdu and then import more products to their booming markets. So these trade talks will be a great favor to this end."

In addition, representatives of more than 70 Nepalese companies engaged in China-related business flew to Chengdu to attend this fair, select products and make orders for China House, a large chain supermarket in Nepal, where five such chain stores have been built.

According to their developing schedule, 10 of these supermarkets will be opened in Nepal in the next two to three years, driving investment and goods procurement to reach millions of dollars in the future, which is a huge opportunity for products from Chengdu and China.

In 2010, this city saw its exports to South Asian countries reach $1.1 billion, an increase of 10 percent.

Local companies from Chengdu were not the only ones drawn to the fair. About 150 companies came from Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang province, which is the largest wholesale petty commodity market in the world.

Market research conducted by experts in the past year found that the number of foreign passengers who take transfer flights from Chengdu to Yiwu could reach 100,000 every year because Chengdu is located at the center, connecting South Asia to China's eastern region.

"All of them, whether they are going back to Nepal or Pakistan, have carry-on luggage filled with commodities bought from Yiwu," said Chen Xiao, secretary-general of the Chengdu South Asia Association for Economic Trade Cooperation, which organizes this annual fair in Chengdu.

"Those products, too many to be transported by plane, will be sent back through trains or other vehicles. The purchases made in this way could surpass 10 billion yuan every year," Chen said.

"We have noticed our role in promoting the business as a transit point among the booming markets in South Asian countries and Yiwu, China's small commodities center."

Compared to Yiwu, Chengdu possesses obvious advantages in terms of human resources and transportation.

"We have a shorter distance to these countries and have direct and frequent flights, which makes trade easy and efficient, since the transport cost will be lower and (the distance) shorter," Chen said.

Furthermore, a new direct airline connecting Chengdu and Sri Lanka will be opened soon due to the expansion of trade between the two countries.

The organizing commission will cooperate with companies from Yiwu to hold an additional commodity fair in the future, where they can show more products.

In addition, these Yiwu companies will invest in building an international trade center in Chengdu as their long-term trading base.

In this new trade center, a special area will be set up to demonstrate goods coming from South Asian countries.

"This fair will become a milestone for trade with South Asian countries, since more frequent and larger trades will be made through this channel. It will also help Chengdu develop as a new distribution center of Internet business," Chen said.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/12/2012 page12)