Malta Enterprise signs MoU with China trade promotion council

Malta Enterprise and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen and increase ties between Malta and China.

Under the MoU, the two entities will exchange market information and views, develop mutual interests and exchange expertise, encourage training opportunities, as well as arrange visits of trade missions and promotional campaigns.

Malta Enterprise executive chairman Alan Camilleri said the MoU will be particularly beneficial for Malta, as it will help the country overcome the major barrier when trying to enter or expand in the Chinese market, namely the lack of knowledge about Malta among the Chinese.

Mr Camilleri proposed a series of five information seminars, whereby Malta Enterprise's Beijing-based regional leader for the Asian market would be able to present Malta and the opportunities available for prospective investors across Chinese provinces.

CCPIT deputy chairman Dong Song Gen, who led an institutional delegation on a Malta visit, acknowledged that the MoU would help the two countries strengthen their ties and facilitate trade opportunities.

He accepted the proposal to hold the seminars, and promised CCPIT's support to Malta Enterprise in its endeavours to promote Malta.

In Malta, members of the delegation were also briefed about the investment opportunities available on the island as well as the services, schemes and incentives offered by Malta Enterprise. They also held one-to-one meetings with Maltese companies.

Their programme included visits to Smart City, the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Freeport. The delegation left on Tuesday.

Another delegation from China, comprising government officials and trade representatives from the city of Yiwu, is to visit Malta in the coming days.

Yiwu lies in Zhejiang Province, southeast China, which is 300 km away from Shanghai, and has a population of 2.1 million people.

After three decades of development, Yiwu has built the largest specialised wholesale market in the world, covering an area of four million square metres, with 62,000 booths selling more than 1.7 million kinds of goods across 4,202 categories from 16 trades from daily consumer goods to electrical appliances.

On a typical day, more than 200,000 buyers and tourists visit the market.