Major foreign retailers and top Chinese exporters will gather in East China's Jiangsu Province later this month to clinch deals and forge long-term rapport, the State Economic and Trade Commission said on Thursday in Beijing.
Sponsored by the commission and Jiangsu Province, an international procurement fair will bring 28 retailing giants and 1,100 Chinese commodity suppliers face-to-face in Nanjing between April 22 and 24, according to Yi Hui, division director.
He said the event will facilitate foreign retailers to locate ideal Chinese products and establish long-standing partnerships with qualified Chinese firms.
Foreign retail groups attending the gathering include those listed in the world's 500 top businesses such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Metro, Auchan and Pinault-Printemps-Redoutesa, according to sources with the commission's Department of Foreign Economic Co-ordination.
A highlight of the three-day fair is a symposium, where Chinese officials will introduce the reform and opening up of China's circulation market, while executives of Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Japan-based Aeon will talk about development trends in the world and the consumer market.
Executives of the transnational retail groups will introduce international procurement procedures to Chinese firms, and detail their requirements in product quality, specifications and packaging standards, according to Yi.
Such an arrangement will make Chinese firms more conscious of the needs in the world consumer market, and help them react and adapt to market changes, he said.
Chinese exports through the procurement of multinational retailers reached US$30 billion last year, representing 12 percent of the country's total export, show commission statistics.
But there still exist huge potentials, as Chinese products contributed to less than 2 percent of the total global sales of the retailing giants listed in the world's 500 top businesses last year, Yi said.
Chinese goods, due to their competitive prices and high quality, have been sought after in the world market, he added.
The fair will exhibit textiles and garments, silk products, shoes and hats, home appliances, sports utilities, electronic and electric products, office utilities and stationery, ornaments, food and drink, hardware tools and construction materials.
(China Daily April 12, 2002)
