Roundup: CIIE important platform for Ethiopian products to enter wider Chinese market

ADDIS ABABA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Experts and policymakers attending a high-level promotion conference here Friday said the China International Import Expo (CIIE) offers a crucial platform for Ethiopian products to enter the wider Chinese market.

During the promotion conference, senior Ethiopian government officials, representatives of the Ethiopian business community, a Chinese delegation group, as well as diplomats from the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia said the CIIE is an impetus for Ethiopia to diversify its export base to China.

Dagnachew Atinkut, the advisor to Ethiopia's Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration, said on the occasion that the Ethiopia-China partnership has developed substantially over the past three decades.

He said the upcoming 6th edition of the CIIE, slated to be held in November, serves as an important platform to promote the Chinese domestic market to foreign companies and boost domestic consumption. "It (the CIIE) is a good opportunity for our country to promote trade and investment to broaden its market linkages."

"The CIIE is a world-class expo, providing new channels for businesses to strengthen cooperation between our two countries," Atinkut added.

During the seminar, representatives from the CIIE Bureau briefed senior Ethiopian government officials and representatives of the country's business community on the general introduction of the CIIE, overall exhibition introduction as well as the potential of the CIIE to tap into the wider Chinese market for Ethiopian producers and exporters.

Figures from the bureau show that in the past sessions, 633 companies from 50 African countries have participated in the CIIE, out of which 31 were Ethiopian companies with an average intended transaction amount of 26.59 million U.S. dollars for each session.

"Economic and trade cooperation is the ballast and propeller of the China-Ethiopia relationship. The active participation of Ethiopia enterprises and products in the CIIE precisely reflects the significant role of economic and trade cooperation in the China-Ethiopia partnership," said Song Shangzhe, deputy director general of the CIIE Bureau.

Melaku Ezezew, president of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, underscored the importance of various Chinese initiatives, such as the CIIE, in terms of promoting Ethiopian exports to China.

Describing Ethiopia as a country endowed with "untapped and immense investment opportunities in the areas of agriculture, livestock, agro-processing, manufacturing, industry, construction, real estate, and tourism," Ezezew stressed that the East African country should prioritize its major export commodities during the upcoming CIIE.

He said the expo would make quality products widely available in China, to work together in a sustainable manner, to expand economic relations between China and African countries including Ethiopia, and to share development opportunities.

Zhao Zhiyuan, Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia, said China and Ethiopia can make full use of the high-quality platform provided by the 6th CIIE to deepen mutually beneficial bilateral economic and trade cooperation and promote the China-Ethiopia friendship to a new level.

"At present, more and more Chinese enterprises wish to invest in Ethiopia, while more and more Ethiopian friends want to find new opportunities in China," he said.