JOHANNESBURG - South African companies who took part in the China International Import Expo (CIIE) that concluded on Saturday said there are many business opportunities in China.

A total of 27 companies took part in the inaugural CIIE which took place in Shanghai on Nov 5-10. Business developer of DesSoft Mark Taylor said participating in the CIIE gave his company a platform to engage others.

"We got major opportunities to work into China. We got some good leads, some big Chinese organizations that have said yes they want to work with us. So we are really excited to see how we can grow our foot print into this market," said Taylor.

He said that he had got leads both from China and outside the country. Taylor said the expo was his best show compared to others he had taken part in.

Little Slipper, which manufactures footwear, spoke of many opportunities in China. Little Slipper CEO Kate Horne said they will make some follow-ups on the leads they got from the show.

She said, "Every day we walk away excited by the contacts we have made each day. We have got a constant flow of people showing interest in our product as it is very unique and different."

Horne said they were approached by E-commerce sites, trading houses and government officials. She stated that they learnt a lot while in China.

The CEO of Pioneer of Durability Engineering, Seponono Kekana said taking part in the CIIE enabled her to meet potential clients from China and Africa. She said they spoke to people from China, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. Kekana said her company is also looking forward to working with some Chinese companies on infrastructure in Africa.