The island nation of Cyprus is located at the junction of the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. And with the help of the initiative, trade and cooperation between Cyprus and China has steadily developed through the years. Our reporter Jiang Shaoyi outlines the details.

JIANG SHAOYI BEIJING "Because of the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more overseas goods are finding easier access to China. And Ground Zero for all this trade? The supermarket. In this area, you can buy products from almost every corner of the world.A bottle of milk from Germany, a box of cereal from Thailand, and my grandma's favorite sancks from Switzerland.And if you want to buy some imported juice, and if you are a careful observer, you will surprisingly find that most of the travelers on this shelf are coming from one particular country, Cyprus."

Located in the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus is making a name for itself in many ways. Beautiful sea views. The world popular Halloumi cheese. And 300 days of sunshine a year, an ideal climate for fruit production. With a history of more than half a century, KEAN is the largest and most well-known juice manufacturer in Cyprus.

That there's no home in Cyprus that does not have one KEAN product.

Kikoula Cotsapas is KEAN's chairperson. She tells us, the company exports half of its production to Europe, Africa, America, Australia and Asia. She says China is a very big client. 

KIKOULA COTSAPAS, CHAIRPERSON KEAN GROUP OF COMPANIES "The exports to China double every year, we are also doing private labor for various Chinese companies, we hope things will go even better in the future. "

However, things weren't so peachy back in 2013, economic growth in Cyprus stalled due to its financial crisis. But things are now looking up. The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says the nation is now getting back on track, with more and more foreign investment pouring in. And one of the major investors? Again, China.

PHIDIAS PILIDES, PRESIDENT CYPRUS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY "China is the 7th largest trading partner of Cyprus. And if you exclude EU countries, it will be the 2nd largest trading partner in the world."

Cyprus exported 38 million euros worth of goods to China last year. Meanwhile, imports from China reached about 240 million euros, mostly electro-mechanical products and furniture. Pilides said the imbalance between imports and exports is commonly seen in trade ties between many European countries and China, since the Asian giant is very competitive in the pricing of its goods. And in 2017, imports from China doubled from the previous year.

HUANG XINGYUAN CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO CYPRUS "The total volume of bilateral trade is not too large, but the trade quality is high. The two countries have cooperation in sectors such as satellite development, aviation, telecommunication, as well as finance and other sectors. Even in entertainment. Such a broad range of cooperation is not so common in other bilateral relations with China."

Though situated half a world apart, the two countries have been brought closer and closer through the years, thanks to the ever-expanding path of the Belt and Road Initiative. What people in China know about the charming, sun-blessed island nation of Cyprus in the coming years, will surely be much more than a box of juice. JIANG SHAOYI CGTN, NICOSIA, CYPRUS.