Partnership facilitated between Chinese, Indonesian businesses

Part of the 129th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, an online business matchmaking event was held on Thursday, aimed at facilitating cooperation between Chinese and Indonesian business circles.

Focusing on the new development phase, the 129th Canton Fair is implementing new development concepts and serving the new development pattern, said Ye Jijiang, deputy secretary-general of the Canton Fair and finance director of the China Foreign Trade Centre.

The fair will innovate business models and host high-level, large-scale online business matchmaking events, to help leverage resources in domestic and international markets and assist companies from home and abroad in international cooperation, Ye said, adding the fair will make better use of its role as a comprehensive opening-up platform and contribute to growth in global trade.

The matchmaking event attracted nearly 400 businesses from China and Indonesia. The participating Chinese companies were recommended by the commercial authorities of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and they were mostly from the sectors of new energy, stationary, kitchenware, home storage solutions and sports products.

Among the participating businesses from Indonesia is Kawan Lama Group, a large retailer in the country, which signed an agreement with the fair, marking the official establishment of a strategic partnership between the two parties.

As a regular visitor to the Canton Fair, Kawan Lama Group has long benefited from services that the fair offers to international buyers.

Via the fair, the Indonesian company has established a regular cooperation mechanism with key industrial clusters in China. That does not only spur the expansion of the company itself but also contributes to the growth in the bilateral trade.

Kuncoro Wibowo, board chairman of Kawan Lama Group, said the Canton Fair is a vital channel for his company to reach suppliers and it is also a major platform to buy commodities.

The fair provides a variety of cost-effective commodities, which are suitable for the Indonesian market and are well received there, he added.

The fair’s innovative approach of moving online brings convenience to overseas buyers, he noted.

Gao Tianyu, a diplomat from the Chinese embassy in Indonesia, said that with complementary advantages in trade, China has been Indonesia’s largest trading partner, import source and export destination for years. Spurred by the Belt and Road Initiative, bilateral trade and economic cooperation have embraced brisk growth.

The fair is a key platform for foreign trade and opening-up. Gao said he hopes Kawan Lama Group and more Indonesian businesses will enhance contact for cooperation via the platform.