Uruguay's dairy giant Conaprole is stepping up its presence in China, signing a strategic cooperation agreement with a local partner to strengthen commercial and technical ties.
The push comes as President Yamandu Orsi leads a week-long visit in China with a high-level business delegation until February 7.
Speaking to China Global Television Network (CGTN), Conaprole president Gabriel Fernandez Secco outlined plans to expand the cooperative's footprint in China and detailed its newly signed partnership with a Chinese dairy firm.
"This trip is very important for us. China is very important for us, it's the most important market in terms of dairy products. And Conaprole exports more than 80 percent of our products to more than 75 countries. We have a lot of clients here in China, but we want to improve our participation," he said.
According to Secco, shared investment in research and production technology will drive improvements in quality and long-term sustainability.
"Basically, the combination between the two, the technical equipment of the both companies to improve the quality, health, and sustainability of our production. Conaprole offers a wide range of products. But in terms of international markets, milk powder is the most important product, not only between Conaprole and the Chinese companies but worldwide. But we export all the products to the Chinese market. We think that we can add other products in the near future," he said.
Uruguay's Conaprole expands China dairy partnership
A photographer from the Republic of Korea (ROK) has dedicated three decades to capturing images of a group survivors of Japan's wartime "comfort women" atrocities, producing a moving photo collection which serves as a vivid visual testimony to their strength and courage while keeping their memory alive.
Through the powerful images captured through his camera lens, photographer Ahn Se-hong has sought to expose the crimes against humanity committed by Japanese militarism during World War II (WWII) and their long-lasting human impact on the survivors.
His work is the focus of a new documentary titled "Five," a joint Chinese-ROK film production, which centers on the stories of five survivors of Japan’s war crimes photographed by Ahn, who shares the profound stories behind the portraits. The span of his body of work is wider than many imagine as Ahn sought to track down women across the broader Asia-Pacific region, following the painful wounds of history across Southeast Asian villages, the Chinese countryside and island towns. Behind every photograph is a woman whose life was rewritten by war. "I started taking these photos in 1996. Thirty years have passed since then. I'd always thought about doing something meaningful. What else could we do together? Then the answer came: document these women through photography and make their stories widely known. And that's how it began," said Ahn.
"In fact, during Japan's war of aggression, 20 to 30 countries were victimized. I've visited survivors in the Philippines, Indonesia, China, and Timor-Leste, documenting and sharing their stories," he said.
In documenting the survivors through his photography, Ahn sought to delve deeper into the lives of the survivors, learning more about their families and memories, while hoping to share the struggles these brave "comfort women" faced.
"This woman is Park Dae-im. She was carrying her 8-month-old son on her back at the time. Someone said they'd take her to northeastern China, and she was dragged away against her will. Even by the 1950s, victims like her had no nationality. They were neither Chinese citizens nor citizens of ROK. It wasn't until the mid-1950s that she received her People's Republic of China citizenship certificate. That was the only proof of her identity, so she cherished it her entire life, until the day she died," said Ahn, as he introduced one of his photographs on display.
Photographer from ROK shares stories of ‘comfort women’ survivors through powerful portraits
