(Yicai Global) April 12 -- Vietnamese ceramic makers and Syrian brocade producers are using this year’s China International Consumer Products Expo as a platform to introduce their products to the Chinese market for the first time.

“China’s ceramics industry is quite developed, so we specifically selected products that have different characteristics from the local ones,” Ly Huy Dat, deputy general manager of Vietnam Minh Long Ceramics, told Yicai Global. Vietnamese porcelain pots are different from metal ones, as they can maintain the temperature of oil at around 135 degrees Celsius, Ly noted.

More than 3,000 brands and buyers from over 35 countries and regions are participating in the third China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou from April 10 to 15. In the Vietnamese national pavilion, agricultural produce such as durian and light industrial products are on show, as big brands seek to test the waters of the Chinese market. 

“Although we received the invitation only about a month ago, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and I decided to organize a proper delegation,” Nguyen Hong Diem, Vietnam’s industry and trade minister, said at the expo’s opening ceremony.

At the Syrian pavilion, Dong Jingyan, head of the country’s exhibition space, introduced the national handicraft of brocade to Chinese consumers for the first time. Syria has its own silkworm breeding bases, Dong said, adding that most of the Damascus brocades on display at the expo are hand-woven.

The Middle Eastern-style designs are the main distinguishing feature of Syria’s silk products, Dong said when asked whether it is feasible to promote Damascus brocade in China, the birthplace of all things silk.

The China International Consumer Products Expo is a great opportunity to get feedback from Chinese clients so that Syrian manufacturers can adjust their work to create more attractive products for the Chinese market, Dong noted, adding that the initial idea was to further process Damascus brocades into clothing.

In addition to brocades, other products from countries along the Belt and Road initiative, such as lapis lazuli ornaments from Afghanistan, Giovanni Bulgari’s wines from Italy, full moon bowls from Nepal, and rose hydrolat from Turkey, are also being sought after at the five-day trade fair.

Editor: Futura Costaglione