Guangdong 21st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo (MSRE) 2021 was held in Guangzhou from September 24 to 26. Over 1,000 exhibitors from over 64 countries and regions brought their unique products to MSRE, an increase of 13 countries and regions compared with the previous event.
Since 2014, the MSRE has been held for eight consecutive sessions, and the cumulative number of participants has exceeded one million. For participants at home and abroad, the expo has become an influential platform to gather rich resources worldwide and enable them to find business opportunities quickly.
“We are looking for more cooperation with Guangdong”
This year, over ten countries, including Iceland, Belgium, the United States, Panama, Bolivia, and South Africa, participated in MRSE for the first time. Participants spoke highly of the MSRE. They believed that this expo would strengthen connection between China and countries or regions along the Belt and Road in the post-pandemic era.
William Freyr Huntingdon-Williams, the first secretary and deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Iceland, held a positive attitude towards the cooperation between Iceland and Guangdong: “We're looking for high-end clientele, and I think here in China, this is where they are.”
“We are looking for more cooperation with Guangdong particularly, specifically in manufacturing. We're interested in cooperation in tourism. We're also hoping to have direct flights between Guangdong and Iceland. That would be very effective and good for us, and it’s a win-win situation.”
Mr. Waweru Kimani, the deputy ambassador of Kenya in China, shared his feeling about the expo: “China has made many investments in Kenya, and Kenya has benefited from that. Most of our business teams come to Guangdong province for their business, and we cooperate in projects of construction material, machinery, and so on.”
“As for the level of trade between Guangdong province and Kenya, I think it is a huge business engagement," Kimani said, “we believe that with the MSRE like this one where we can interact and engage, we can promote the linkage between Chinese and Kenyan people.”
“It’s important to let our brands ‘go global’”
In 2020, the actual investment of countries and regions along the Belt and Road to Guangzhou reached 548 million dollars, up 67.6 percent year-on-year. Many enterprises in Guangdong are also looking forward to more cooperation with foreign countries along the Belt and Road.
Wu Jiajia, the marketing director of Gift Customization Center, a company of the national foreign trade transformation and upgrade base of Panyu district, Guangdong province, shared his thoughts with GDTday.
"In the post-pandemic era, we hope to promote jewelry brands in Panyu district to the international market further. It’s important to let our brands ‘go global.' That's our main goal for coming to the MSRE, which gives us a platform."
"During the expo, we have communicated with several foreign customers, who are very interested in our products,” said Wu, “and they also said that they would visit our company and our factory later to understand our brand further. I think this will help our future cooperation in the following communication."
Cross-border e-commerce trade boost in the post-epidemic era
Guangzhou's cross-border e-commerce import ranked first in China for five consecutive years. The city has issued a special policy to boost cross-border e-commerce business with RCEP countries, for the first time in China. There is also a specialized exhibition area featuring Silk Road e-commerce in the MSRE this year.
When it comes to cooperation with Guangdong in e-commerce, Huntingdon-Williams added: “China and Iceland sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on e-commerce, and we have now opened all avenues for Icelandic-Chinese e-commerce trade. Now due to COVID-19, we have difficulty in sending people across, and e-commerce has been a way for us to connect with customers here.”
Also from Guangzhou Aopiya Leather Industrial LLC, an enterprise of the national foreign trade transformation and upgrade base of Shiling Town, Huadu District, Guangdong province, shared their plan on e-commerce business.
"We have a lot of cooperation with companies from countries along the Belt and Road. Affected by COVID-19, we will vigorously develop e-commerce business in the future and promote the development of our foreign trade with the help of e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba International websites and Amazon," said an exhibitor from Guangzhou Aopiya Leather Industrial LLC.. The MSRE has set up a new pavilion designed for more than 40 foreign trade bases of Guangdong this year.
