As the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) gets underway in Shanghai, international delegates, ranging from small agricultural producers to industrial machinery giants, are using the event to unlock fresh demand across China.
The expo, running from Nov 5–10, features a specialized matchmaking session in the Food and Agricultural Products area.
For one Brazilian coffee planter whose plantation produces 20,000 bags of premium beans annually for the U.S. market, navigating China's vast landscape to find matching buyers had previously been a hurdle.
The specialized matchmaking session in the Food and Agricultural Products area has enabled him to connect directly with a roasting enterprise from Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, marking his first opportunity to break into the Chinese market.
"I will visit the company and I see this as a good connect for us," he said.
Meanwhile, a large machine tool produced by an Austrian company, one of the first batch of exhibits at the expo, is making its debut in Asia.
"And you must know, it's a relatively big investment to have the machine in the exhibition in China, which, let's say, from time to time, is booming like windcraft, for example, like solar panels. And our machines are going every time in these markets and their investments," said Gunther Mayr, managing director of WFL Millturn Technologies in Austria.
Despite the high transport costs, Mayr remains bullish on the Chinese market. He highlighted emerging demand beyond traditional machinery and auto sectors, pointing to high-end manufacturing and data centers as key areas creating new application scenarios and business opportunities.
Validating that confidence, a formal purchase contract for the heavy machinery was signed on Saturday. The deal capped a successful debut for WFL, standing alongside other key milestones at the expo, including expanded state-level representation.
For Leon Korosec, a state secretary at the Ministry of the Economy, Labor and Sport of Slovenia, this is the third time for him to participate in the expo.
He previously attended as a company representative, but this year he serves as the head of the Slovenian delegation, where Slovenia has set up both a national pavilion and a commercial pavilion for the first time.
"I was a representative of a global company, Elan, in the past and I was coming to CIIE from that perspective. And now I'm proudly representing the Republic of Slovenia as the head of delegation to this year's exhibition. We believe that CIIE is a very good platform in China to showcase Slovenian knowledge, Slovenian products, and Slovenian brands to Chinese audience," said Korosec.
CIIE helps int'l businesses tap cooperation opportunities in China
