"As a trade company focusing on imports, SDIC Trade can be regarded as a vignette of China’s experiences in import trade during its thirty four years of history," Wang Huisheng, board chairman of the State Development and Investment Co.,Ltd (SDIC), told reporters at the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) on Nov 5.

Wang Huisheng, board chairman of the National Development and Investment Group Co Ltd, attends a meeting in Shanghai on Nov 5. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Attending as a representative of the Central SOE Procurement Group, Wang explained how the China International Trade, a SDIC subsidiary, was founded in 1984, becoming an important platform for SDIC’s international trading businesses and a key player in SDIC’s procurement group.

During the CIIE, SDIC Trade will sign a series of import agreements with Cambodia. Products will be imported directly from the producing country, changing the current situation in which Cambodia has to rely on a third party for her exports.

Zhao Fengbin, director of the Trade Management Department of SDIC Trade, remarked that, "Cambodia is rich in cassava and giant king grass, which can be used for feeding livestock as well as for bioethanol or natural biogas. They will contribute to the development of China’s green economy."

In addition to importing products from Cambodia, SDIC Trade will also advise on the country’s infrastructure development in order to enhance the country’s competitiveness in international trade.

Due to the lack of access to proper warehouses and convenient transportation, farm produce in Cambodia is subject to such risks as rotting and malicious pricing. But SDIC Trade will help them to build better supporting facilities to make businesses more efficient and profitable.

During the CIIE, the SDIC also signed procurement contracts with suppliers of sorghum and barley from Australia and Ukraine. This will enrich the overseas supply chains of the group and increase the diversification of its suppliers.

"SDIC Trade focused on the import of cotton during the early years, that’s because China relied heavily on import processing for economic growth at that time," said Zhang Zhaogang, chairman of SDIC Trade.

"In recent years, with an ever-expanding domestic market and an ever-growing demands from citizens for higher living standards, SDIC Trade has imported more high-end foodstuffs, such as nuts, seafood, and oil products, like olive oil and rapeseed oil. SDIC Trade has spared no efforts in bringing high-quality food to Chinese families’ dinner table," Zhao noted.