The large-scale business mission of Shandong Province to the Vitebsk region has identified the main points of cooperation between the regions

The delegation, headed by Liu Wen, Deputy General Director of the Department of Commerce of the province, included businessmen as well as representatives of the management bodies of 19 cities, districts, and counties, and about 20 departments of the Shandong government (over 120 people in total).

The visit program was structured to minimize bureaucratic communication and maximize meetings in workshops and on the assembly line.

– This is a landmark event for the organizations of the Vitebsk region. The province of Shandong and we are separated by 8,000 kilometers, but the visit demonstrates that distance is not an obstacle to finding partners and forming sustainable cooperation in the interests of our peoples, – emphasized the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Sherstnev.

TASTING BEFORE CONTRACTS

Cooperation proposals were prepared by about 30 enterprises that are potentially interesting to Chinese partners, mainly food producers. An exhibition and tasting of food products ready to conquer the consumers of Shandong province was organized at the Regional Executive Committee. Familiarization with the technologies used took place directly at the production sites.

For Vitebsk companies, the Chinese market is one of the most promising, but at the same time complex and specific. It is necessary to know the specifics of product promotion in the Chinese market, logistics, certification, customs clearance, and consider the nuances of working with both Chinese businessmen and consumers in the Celestial Empire.

These and other aspects of doing business in the East Asian country were discussed by the guests during a joint business meeting organized at the Regional Executive Committee.

Among the tools that Vitebsk manufacturers need to master more actively for successful interaction with Chinese partners is e-commerce.

One of the Chinese trading platforms even presented a gift package for manufacturers of the Vitebsk region, including free registration and advertising support for a year.

PROMISING AGENDA

In addition to mutual product supplies, Vitebsk region is ready to offer options for investment cooperation using the geographical, industrial, and resource potential of the northern region of Belarus in areas of interest to the Chinese side.

In particular, this concerns joint projects for the construction of dairy complexes with a total capacity of up to 40 thousand heads, for which about 80 thousand hectares of agricultural land are available. This will require, in turn, the development of the feed zone, the construction of feed mills, veterinary drugs, and the organization of deep processing of milk and meat.

Taking into account the requirements of the Chinese market, dairy products will need to be produced with long shelf lives and with various natural additives. Promising areas also include the production of milk powder and baby meat food, and dry whey for the food, cosmetic, and perfumery industries.

Modern technologies allow for the industrial-scale breeding of valuable fish species in closed reservoirs, and the placement of such enterprises in Vitebsk region makes it possible to bring sought-after products closer to the European market.

By developing peat and sapropel deposits, it is possible to develop the production of modern types of agricultural soils with microelements, which are in demand in EU countries and are successfully promoted to the African continent and the Middle East.

– Chinese companies are constantly interested in wood products, and we are ready for dialogue on establishing joint ventures focused on the production of high-quality finished products, especially since forests occupy about 40% of the region's territory, and the estimated logging volume is 1.5 million cubic meters, – informed the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee.

The use of geographical advantages opens up good prospects for cooperation. They allow Chinese and Belarusian regions to become full-fledged links in the transnational project of the New Silk Road, which is actively promoted by China today.

In addition, educational projects, and the development of leisure and health industries remain potentially interesting areas for cooperation. At the same time, as emphasized by Nikolai Sherstnev, Vitebsk partners are open to discussing any issues and expect that the agreements reached during the business mission will lay the foundation for the development of contacts in the near future.

SERGEY ANTONOV, photo by Dmitry OSIPOV, "Vitebskiye Vesti".