By Wang Fengjuan

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Fuzhou Trade Fair： A Fruitful Display

By Wang Fengjuan

Liu Xianqiang， a Malaysian participant of the 18th Cross- Straits Fair for Economy and Trade （CFET）， which was held from May 18-22 in Fuzhou in southeastern China's Fujian Province， brought something unique to the trade conference—ice cream.

Against the backdrop of ultra-modern booths displaying a wide array of products， Liu stood patiently， ringing his booth's bell every three minutes to attract potential purchasers of his homegrown， fruit-flavored ice cream. The event is of special significance to Liu because he and his brothers， who were also selling ice cream alongside him， are Fujian descendants. Their great-grandparents were natives of Fuzhou who migrated to Sabah， Malaysia.

“Our family has been living in Malaysia for nearly 116 years，” Liu said， adding that he belongs to his family's fourth generation of immigrants from China. “We were taught Malay and English when we were very young，but we can also speak the Fuzhou dialect of Chinese. We feel at home when we hear the Fuzhou dialect.”

Liu is representative of the connective nature of the CFET. People from across the region converge to share information on products and expertise. Although perhaps a little less conventional， ice cream is no different.

“This is the first time I have come to an exhibition fair in Fuzhou，” Liu said. “I am very grateful to Fujian for the chance to bring our clean， pure， healthy food to China. Our ice cream is neither too sweet nor too fatty. It contains fresh fruit to enrich its flavor.”

Besides sweets， various country pavilions gave visitors a chance to try various characteristic aspects of Southeast Asian nations.

At the Thailand Pavilion， Thai girls and boys in traditional dress danced to much fanfare. Yang Huaigen， a Thai businessman and attendee， said that many classic Thai products were on display， including dried nuts， cosmetics products and massage equipment.

At the Vietnam Pavilion， agarwood， a fragrant， dark-colored heartwood， was on display among a wide range of products seen at the CFET. Nearby were Buddha images from Myanmar， wood carvings from Cambodia， latex pillows and durian chips from Thailand，civet coffee from Indonesia and milk tea from the Philippines.

The first edition of the CFET was held 22 years ago， and now it has grown into an important platform for Fuzhou's development. This year's CFET attracted 375 exhibitors from countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， an increase of 3 percent from the previous CFET， bringing aunique “taste of the ocean”.

The 18th Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and Trade （CFET） opened May 18， 2016， in Fuzhou

Platform for Effective Cooperation

During the 18th CFET， large-scale international investment opportunities were on display. The CFET is jointly sponsored by the General Administration of Customs， General Administration of Quality Supervision，Inspection and Quarantine， Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade， as well as the Provincial Government of Fujian and the Municipal Government of Fuzhou.

At the exhibition hall's entrance， visitors were met with a giant ship model bearing the theme “Fuzhou， Sail Again”. Behind it were booths set up by 34 Asia Cooperation Dialogue （ACD） members， exhibiting brass products from Central and West Asian nations， Buddha images from Southeast Asian nations and carpets from Arab countries， all combining to show the diversity of products found within countries along the Maritime Silk Road. Walking through these booths gives visitors a unique impression that they are traveling in those countries.

The 18th CFET was composed of five exhibition zones：

1. Cross-Straits products zone， featuring quality food and souvenirs from Taiwan as well as tea and environmentally-friendly building materials from the mainland and Taiwan；

2. Exhibition zone for tourism resources，export products， handicrafts and special products of some 50 countries along the Maritime Silk Road， and Western Europe and North America；

3. “Fuzhou， Sail Again” zone showing the golden opportunities brought about by four nearby areas — the national-level New Area of Fuzhou， a free trade zone， the core area of the Maritime Silk Road and ecological civilization demonstration area；

4. ACD member states zone focusing on the customs， culture， history and special products of the 34 ACD countries， with a view to promoting construction of a cultural and business platform for the Maritime Silk Road countries and regions；

5. Free Trade Zone section devoted to providing a platform for enterprises in the zone to display and promote their products.

Yu Weiguo， the governor of Fujian Province， told CFET representatives that implementing the Belt and Road Initiative in a comprehensive way has allowed Fujian to promote exchange and cooperation with Asian countries， speeding up the construction of the core areas of the Maritime Silk Road.

The India booth attracted visitors with its top-grade wooden furniture

In front of the Malaysia booth are replicas of Petronas Twin Towers， the most iconic structure in Kuala Lumpur， capital of Malaysia

According to Yu， Fujian will continue to work hard to implement “bringing in” and“going out” strategies， embracing joint discussion and promoting cultural and economic exchanges.

Since its introduction 22 years ago， the CFET has grown into a vital platform for cross-Straits economic and trade exchanges， which in turn has helped promote the development of Fujian Province as a whole. According to Fuzhou Deputy Mayor Hang Dong， CFET facilitates exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Straits as well as among the countries that fall on the Maritime Silk Road， creating a channel for enterprises on both sides of the Straits to jointly participate in the international market competition.

A total of 1，940 businesses participated in this year's CFET， coming from 50 countries and regions from across Asia， Europe， Africa and North America.

In the near future， Fuzhou is looking to enhance its role as a key area of connectivity for the region. On the opening day of the CFET， a large number of contracts were signed， including eight projects invested by Chinese state-owned enterprises valued at 14.9 billion yuan （US$2.45 billion）， 14 by foreign companies valued at 7.3 billion yuan （US$1.1 billion）， and 38 by private enterprises with a total investment of 53.5 billion yuan （US$8.2 billion）.