Russian ice cream sales have been rocketing in China ever since President Vladimir Putin brought a box of the sweet stuff as a gift to President Xi Jinping during the G20 meeting in Hangzhou City in 2016.
The president's gift served as an advertisement for the Russian confectionary industry, which is among those that will be on display at the China International Imports Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai in November.
Filling ice cream cones. /CGTN Photo
A leading Russian ice cream brand said China is an ideal place to export to. "The Chinese market is extremely attractive since nearly 1.4 billion average-income customers live there and the culture and the structure of Chinese consumption is shifting towards the better quality, more expensive ice cream produced abroad, including in Russia," said Denis Kazmin, deputy chief executive of Iceberry.
Iceberry exported 300 metric tons of ice cream to China last year and is now set to open a new office in Shanghai to cope with the demand, as they learn to navigate the Chinese market. The ice cream maker will be attending the CIIE, hoping to deliver directly to retail chains in the country by next season.
Chocolate ice cream. VCG Photo
Russian trade officials want more companies like Iceberry to find a home for their exports in China. Trade with China grew by 30 percent last year but the bulk of Russian exports to its neighbor are still raw materials. Russia hopes to export more of its products to China, including soybean, wheat, car products and chemicals.
"We have placed Russian companies on major Chinese e-trade platforms, and we're registering an increasing interest in Russian goods. We're hoping the China International Imports Expo will introduce consumers to Russian products," said Andrey Slepnev, chief executive of the Russian Export Center.
Ice cream manufacturing. /VCG Photo
Food is an area of particular focus for Russian exporters looking to do business in China. Russian food products are considered to be of a high quality and China imports significant quantities of fish, chocolate and sunflower oil. China accounted for 10 percent of Russia's total agricultural exports in 2017.
Some of those industries will be on display at the CIIE, an event hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and designed to showcase China's trade liberalization as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Russia has been designated a guest of honor at the inaugural event.