Nature's gifts from Africa at 7th China International Import Expo

The ongoing 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) is not only an important window for China's opening up to the world, but also an excellent stage for global companies to showcase their products, expand markets and deepen cooperation.

Guinea-Bissau, one of the top ten global producers of cashews, produces over 250,000 tonnes of the nut annually. The economy depends mainly on agriculture. Fish, cashew nuts and groundnuts are its major exports. Approximately 80 percent of Guinea-Bissau's population relies on cashew production for their livelihood.

In recent years, Guinea-Bissau has worked to strengthen its ties with China. The CIIE stands out as a key platform for the nation to promote its products.

Recently, a joint statement between China and Guinea-Bissau announced plans to accelerate the export of high-quality agricultural products, including cashews, to China.

The Tanzanian economy also relies heavily on agriculture. Maize has been the largest food crop on the Tanzania mainland, while sugar is the largest cash crop.

In a testament to the burgeoning economic partnership between China and Tanzania, the CIIE has emerged as a pivotal platform for showcasing Tanzania's unique products to a global audience.

Over the past six years, Tanzania has consistently showcased its agricultural products at the CIIE, with its renowned coffee taking center stage. Coffee, a staple among Tanzania's traditional export crops, thrives in the country's southern highlands, particularly around Mount Kilimanjaro. The volcanic soil of the Kilimanjaro region imbues the coffee with a luxurious texture and a delicate acidity, rendering it truly distinctive.

Cashews also made a significant impact. In 2023, the 6th CIIE yielded promising results for Tanzania, with cashews being the top-selling Tanzanian product at the event. Tanzanian cashews have become one of the most popular Tanzanian specialties at the expo.

Seaweed from Tanzania, a distinctive product with versatile applications as a food ingredient or industrial resource, seized the opportunity to showcase itself to Chinese consumers at the CIIE.

With the backing of the economic and commercial office of the Chinese embassy in Tanzania, Tanzanian entrepreneurs showcased seaweed-based products like soaps, teas and essential oils for the first time at the CIIE.

The CIIE has become an excellent platform for promoting trade between China and Tanzania, serving as an important window for enhancing economic and trade exchanges.

As one of the Guest Countries of Honor at the expo, Tanzania brings its special Tanzanite, coffee, diverse handicrafts and rich specialty products to Chinese consumers this year.

Among the newcomers to this year's CIIE is Benin, a tropical country with an economy heavily dependent on agriculture, which is an exporter of palm oil and cotton.

Benin pineapples became the center of attention at last year's CIIE, leading to numerous orders being placed. An exhibitor from Benin expressed delight, highlighting the opportunity to sign major deals with Chinese companies. This year, Benin set up a national pavilion at the CIIE for the first time, showcasing its special pineapples, cashews, shea butter and honey.

At the 6th CIIE in 2023, the African agricultural products area brought together 20 agricultural export enterprises from some least-developed African countries, including Benin. Over 300 Chinese companies engaged in discussions with the African exhibitors, resulting in an intended procurement amount that exceeded expectations.

This year, the food and agricultural products exhibition area has expanded at the expo for African countries to showcase a wide range of agricultural products.

According to the UN, as of 2023, there were 45 least-developed countries globally. The 7th CIIE features 37 of them, with the event organizers providing more than 120 free exhibition booths specifically for businesses from these countries.

(Cover: Benin pineapples at the 7th CIIE, Shanghai, China, November 7, 2024. /CFP)