Representatives from over 40 companies in east China's Ningbo City departed on Sunday for Hungary to explore new markets in Central and Eastern Europe, taking advantage of a business matchmaking event held by the commerce departments of China and Hungary in Budapest on Wednesday.
As part of China's business delegation to attend the event, the business travelers gathered at the local airport fully geared up to promote their products and expand in the European market, with many of them bringing their products to showcase.
"We have brought nine patented products this time, showing that China's cellular biotechnology industry is om par with foreign peers," said Yin Xiuling, General Manager of Huayu (Xinhui) Ningbo Biotechnology.
In addition to experienced export businesses, the delegation also involves many newcomers to the Central and Eastern European markets. One such company is Ningbo Qisejia Metal Products, which brought along its clever paper towel holder.
"You can place tissues on it and tear them with one hand. I can also lift it and move it elsewhere. Additionally, I can press it down, and fill the sprayer with alcohol or cleaning liquid for sanitation purposes. We are looking to expand into the blue ocean of Central and Eastern European market and strengthen friendly relations in the with countries in the region," said Lian Zhenyu, General Manager of Ningbo Qisejia Metal Products.
The representatives from Ningbo make up half of the event participants from the Chinese side, including domestic and foreign trade companies, manufacturers, and logistics service providers.
"We aim to explore new business opportunities in Europe and assess whether we can expand our whole process services of logistics, warehousing, and transportation, beyond what we have done before," Ma Zhenxiang, Vice President of the East China Region, Kuayue Express Group.
To match the diversified needs of businesses from all sectors, the two countries have had communications in advance and solicited interested companies to promote cooperation.
"The first type of participating enterprises are domestic and foreign trade companies looking to expand their market. Second are manufacturing enterprises that, from a perspective of supply chain diversification, hope to distribute their products to the European market via Hungary, as well as the whole Central and Eastern Europe. Third are logistics service providers," said Fei Jianming, an official from the Foreign Trade Promotion Division under the Ningbo Bureau of Commerce.
As China's first demonstration area of economic and trade cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries, Ningbo has seen an average import-export increase with countries in the region of 17.2 percent since 2018. In the first two months of 2025, bilateral trade has seen a record-breaking volume of over ten billion yuan (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars), representing a 15.3 percent increase year-over-year.
Exporters from Ningbo depart to explore Central, Eastern Europe markets
