This photo taken on Nov. 5, 2022 shows a night view of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in east China's Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]

Products to be exhibited at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) from Vanuatu embarked on a local transport flight to transit through New Zealand on Monday.

The Vanuatu products will join the New Zealand exhibition products and set to sail from New Zealand to east China's Shanghai in mid-September, which marks the first shipment of exhibition products for this year's CIIE, undertaken by COSCO SHIPPING.

Vanuatu is an island nation located in the southwestern Pacific, with its economy primarily based on agriculture, fisheries and livestock.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1982, China and Vanuatu have maintained stable and positive economic and trade ties. In 2022, the trade volume between China and Vanuatu reached about 108 million U.S. dollars, representing an 8.97 percent year-on-year increase.

The Vanuatu government and local businesses greatly value the CIIE platform and have actively participated in the expo since its inception.

According to Joe Pacoa, director of Vanuatu's Department of External Trade, Vanuatu's exhibition products are natural and distinctive. They have received positive feedback from Chinese consumers at previous CIIE expos. Vanuatu's water, kava and noni juice have forayed into the Chinese market.

Encouraged by this, Vanuatu will continue to introduce more exhibition products at this year's CIIE, including local jewellery, sea cucumber-based cancer-fighting health products, mineral water, kava-based foods and daily necessities, chocolates, coconut oil, Tamanu oil, as well as traditional local handcrafted items and wood carvings, Pacoa said.

With the assistance of COSCO, these unique products will once again bring an exotic island experience to Chinese customers through the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

As an official international shipping service provider for CIIE, COSCO SHIPPING has provided services to the Vanuatu government and participating exhibitors for six consecutive years.

In early 2023, a series of extreme natural disasters, including tropical cyclones, significantly affected the production and livelihoods of the people of Vanuatu. To ensure the smooth transportation of local products, Zhou Shuhua, head of the CIIE team at COSCO Shipping Lines (New Zealand), led a team to Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, to work together with the local government and businesses.

Pacoa is delighted to have the COSCO team providing comprehensive services to ensure the smooth departure of Vanuatu's exhibition products. 

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