"People from UK and other parts of the world are benefiting from
the progress of China's economy and the Made-in-China products
coming to Birmingham Spring Fair," Mike Whitby, leader of the
Birmingham City Council said in Birmingham on Monday.
Touring the European Showcase for Brands of China, which opened
Monday morning, Whitby said it is encouraging to see that some
Chinese firms are joining hands with British and other European
businessmen in their drive to make their business more
international.
Susino, one of the leading umbrella manufacturers in China is
attending the week-long Chinese brand show with its branch in
Britain.
Xiaoya Zhang, director of the Susino UK ltd, said she feels very
proud that her company is enjoying an unexpectedly welcoming market
in Britain, a country which for long has been regarded as a country
of fog by Chinese, with umbrellas as their must-haves.
Zhang said her company, one of the leading umbrella producer and
the biggest exporter, is trying to enlarge its market share while
actively extend its manufacturing capability.
Aoqi Inflatables, a Guangzhou-based balloon, blimps and
inflatable building producer come to the Chinese brand show at the
Birmingham Spring Fair, with their cooperators from Ireland.
While firms like the umbrella-producer and the Aoqi Inflatable
bring their European cooperators to the fair, Yipeng Lin is
attracting locals, mainly those of Indian origins to his stand,
with his Indian sculptures.
Many customers tried to persuade Lin to let them be the sole
agent for Lin in Britain, which over 1 million Indian descendants
take as their second if not the first homeland.
Over 80 Chinese enterprises are attending the fair, with a view
to further promoting the economic and trade cooperation and
exchange between China and Europe, as well as to making Chinese
brands better known among both the trade visitors and consumers in
the European Union, said Xinhua Liu, leader of the Chinese business
delegation.
The exhibits on display include well-known brand Chinese
products covering the areas of gifts, stationery, textile and
garments, kitchen utensils, bags and suitcases, house ware, garden
facilities and small electrical appliances, with high technology
and the latest design in the respective fields.
As the Chinese economy and its foreign trade continue their
rapid growth, Chinese businesses, on the basis of research and
innovation while at the same time inheriting and developing
traditional techniques, are paying ever more attention to raising
the technology content and quality of their products, and to
nurturing their own brands names, Liu said.
In recent years, some Chinese enterprises have started to
establish mature brands, which are increasingly winning
international recognition, and enjoying certain influence in the
international market like Haier, Lenovo and Changhong, among
others, constantly providing quality products and services to the
business circles and consumers in Europe.
The European Showcase for Brands of China has been held four
times since 2004.
(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)
