Azerbaijan-made pomegranate products displayed at international exposition in China

Pomegranate, introduced to China more than 2,000 years ago from Central Asia, has become a name card for free trade propelled by the Silk Road.

Now a sought-after fruit in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, pomegranate-made products from Azerbaijan, one of the fruit's main producers, also drew the attention of participants at the 7th Silk Road International Exposition which ended on Monday, Caliber.Az reports citing Xinhua.

Pomegranate juice and wine from Azerbaijan was for the first time brought to the expo this year, which opened in Xi'an and attracted guests from over 50 countries and regions.

"We hope to take the expo as an opportunity to establish long-term partnerships with Chinese distributors," said Teymur Nadiroghlu, trade representative at the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in China.

Stressing that the two countries have long-established collaboration in the fields of construction, energy, logistics, and tourism, Nadiroghlu said there is huge room for growth of sales of Azerbaijani food and beverage products in the Chinese market in the future.

The previous six editions of the Silk Road International Exposition welcomed more than 10,000 overseas exhibitors from over 190 countries and regions, and the total amount of contracts signed for foreign investment projects exceeded 45.3 billion U.S. dollars in value.

China has signed more than 200 documents with 152 countries and 32 international organizations on cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), covering 83 per cent of the countries with which China has established diplomatic relations.

The expo's role as a platform for BRI partner countries to tap the huge, ever-expanding Chinese market is becoming more and more prominent.

The Silk Road International Exposition and the Investment and Trade Forum for Cooperation Between East and West China (the Silk Road expo for short) established in 1997, was renamed in March 2016 upon the approval of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the National Leading Group for Reviewing and Regulating Celebrations, Seminars and Forums, and is hosted jointly by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, State Administration for Market Regulation, and the People's Government of Shaanxi Province in Xi'an in May every year.

Since its launch, the Silk Road expo, with the guidance of the host ministries and commissions, the support of other provinces and cities, and the participation of various enterprises both from home as well as the Belt and Road countries and regions, has achieved fruitful results in building a highland of reform and opening-up and promoting the large-scale development of China’s western region in the new era.