A "Hunan Products Go Global" Shaodong-Russia online matchmaking meeting was held in Shaodong on July 10, 2023. Using the platform of the Enterprise Hunan Network (EHN), the meeting aimed to build an "Online Silkroad" brand to promote Hunan products to the world and to introduce quality goods from around the world to Hunan.

Eighty-one Shaodong-based foreign trade companies and 30 Russian businesses joined in the online negotiations.

A suitcase and bag company manager said that her company began exporting suitcases and bags to Russia in 2018. They will set up a R&D center in Russia this year to develop custom-tailored products for Russian consumers and further expand exports.

Shaodong-made suitcases and bags have been popular in overseas markets this year. In contrast with the conventional ways to contact international clients, such as the Canton Fair, the online matchmaking event provides new inspirations and more options for local businesses.

Lighters, suitcases and bags, and hardware tools were presented on the EHN Chinese-English bilingual exhibition platform during this matchmaking meeting. In addition to an online negotiation platform, a 3D "Shaodong hardware tools, suitcases and bags shopping street" was opened, where overseas clients could do "window shopping", and hold business talks online.

Hunan and Russia have seen increasingly close economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges in recent years. Hunan opened its first direct shipping route to Russia on July 3. This route can save five days and 40 percent of the cost each trip, compared to previous routes that required transfers at Shanghai.

Six meetings of the "Hunan Products Go Global" online matchmaking series are scheduled to be held throughout the year. Each meeting will match one city or prefecture in Hunan Province with a designated overseas region. Targeting the Russian, ASEAN, and EU markets, each city will promote its specialty products or leading industries, for instance, Shaodong's suitcases, bags and hardware tools; Yueyang's chemical engineering and tea products; Changde's machinery manufacturing; Huaihua's healthcare industry; Xiangtan's agricultural products and food industry; and, Chenzhou's minerals and gems.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn