From November 23rd to 25th, Chongqing International Expo Centre attracted 150 companies from 38 countries including USA, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and dozens of Asian and African countries. Exhibitors showed their branded national products which included food and beverage, skin care and beauty products, handicrafts, home decoration, tourism, lifestyle and educational products.
This was the first time Croatia was present at the Expo, focused on developing trade between PR China and other countries under the Belt and Road initiative. During the matchmaking sessions CSEBA presented potentially interesting Croatian products for Chinese market, with high interest from Chongqing’s import distributors, hotels, department stores and e-commerce platforms, especially for healthy foods, health care and agricultural products.
Cedevita came with its multivitamin drink which showed to be very popular amongst younger population and children. The moment was very well chosen, since in China there is a high trend of search for healthy foods and beverages, multivitamin additives and reliable producers of natural products. Several international hotels, local distributors and online shops expressed their wish to offer Cedevita’s products at the local market.
UniQat, Croatian-Chinese company with headquarters in Chongqing, exhibited with its tourism products for Chinese market, which include weddings in Croatia, photography tours and travel to the country of Luka Modric and the Game of Thrones.
“We have seen a spike of interest for our Croatian products during and after the World Cup in Russia. The echo that our team sent out about our small nation was exceptional and the mentality and fighting spirit of our team has been remembered and praised here in China”, said Martin Stokic, general manager of uniQat, whose efforts also enabled that ethnic Croatian clothes from KUD Palična, Severin, Bjelovar, to be shown to the Chinese public during the Expo.
Chongqing, capital of China during the WW2 and Sino-Japanese war, is the world’s biggest municipality with over 30 million citizens and spreading over the area of 82,400 km2 (size of Austria). Bordering Sichuan province in central China, it is famous for hot summer weather, spicy food and spectacular night views of thousands of illuminated skyscrapers and bridges over Jialing and Yangtze river.
