About 400 manufacturers from China on Wednesday, staged an impressive performance to woo buyers from the Southern African region with opportunity to source quality products directly from them in an inaugural business-to-business trade exhibition.
With a focus on increasing bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the countries, the China Homelife Fair saw business delegations from both countries in attendance to enhance opportunities particularly in the areas of investment, technology and trade.
Liang Zhao Shan, secretary of economic and commerce at the Embassy of China in South Africa, said more and more South African companies were beginning to do business with Chinese companies.
“In recent years, China-South Africa relations have had dramatic developments, from political trust to economic, especially since last year after China President, Xi Jinping, visited South Africa where he committed $60-billion to development to Africa during the China Africa Summit,” Shan said.
“Chinese companies have so far invested more than $130-billion in South Africa. This has made China the biggest trading partner with South Africa for seven consecutive years.”
This inaugural show had a focus on ten product segments; hardware and tools, building materials, home electronics and appliances, textiles and garments, furniture, kitchen and bathroom, garden and leisure, lighting, escalators and elevators, as well as power and electricity.
To ensure networking and successful negotiations, the match-making programme was on hand to assist buyers meet the right suppliers and finding the right products through on-site interpreters.
Gugu Makhari, a South African entrepreneur who sources fashion and beauty products from abroad, said she found this trade fair useful as she would link up with suppliers from the “retailer of the world”.
“Though I’ve travelled a lot to China, I’ve never been exposed to so many suppliers of goods at once. I’ve already made good contacts and follow-up business leads,” Makhari said.
Binu Pillia, chief operations officer of organisers, Meorient International Exhibitors, said one of the key differentiators between the show and its competitors in the African Market was the quality of China’s exhibitors.
“All exhibitors have been selected via a strict quality control process so as to ensure the products displayed are the best from China and meet the high quality demands of international buyers,” Pillai said.
The China Homelife Fair takes place at Sandton Convention Centre until Friday.