Cambodia ready to attend 3rd int'l import expo in Shanghai in November: minister

Cambodia's Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak said Thursday that the kingdom is ready to participate in the third China International Import Expo (CIIE), which will be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10.

"The Ministry of Commerce is ready to erect a Cambodia Pavilion at the 3rd CIIE, and we will lead a delegation from the private sector to take part in this event," he said during a video conference on the promotion of the 3rd CIIE.

"We hope that the global COVID-19 pandemic will be brought under control and flights will return to normal at that time," Sorasak said.

The virtual conference, facilitated by the Bank of China (BOC), was attended by CIIE Bureau's deputy director Sun Chenghai, BOC Vice President Lin Jingzhen and Wu Guoquan, Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia.

Sorasak said Cambodia will encourage local exhibitors to attend the annual event and that the kingdom had sent many large companies in the rice sector, construction and real estate to display their products and services in the past two CIIEs.

"The 3rd CIIE will be an important opportunity for exhibitors from various countries to promote their products, services and investment projects and to seek new business partners," he said.

He added that the CIIE has also played a vital role to help boost trade and investment volumes between Cambodia and China.

The bilateral trade between Cambodia and China was valued at 9.42 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, according to data from the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh.

During the video conference, the Chinese side also briefed the Cambodian side on the preparation for the 3rd CIIE and anticipated advantages for the exhibitors.

China launched the 1st CIIE in November 2018 in a bid to promote global trade and multilateralism.

Editor: John Li