Agustín García Rechy at the Mexico exhibition area of the Sixth China International Import Exhibition (CIIE) in Shanghai on November 7 (YIN KANG)  

Exchanging business cards, meeting and greeting old and new clients, and discussing potential collaborations, Agustín García Rechy was busy shaking hands and hugging people almost every day during the Sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE), which took place in Shanghai from November 5 to 10. 

As the world’s first national-level import exhibition, the CIIE allows Latin American participants to tap into the Chinese consumer’s growing appetite for their high-quality products and enhance the visibility and reputation of their brands. 

For Rechy, the representative of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology, who has participated in the CIIE every year since its first edition in 2018, the four-leaf clover pavilion has become a gathering place to meet new friends and reunite with familiar faces. 

“China is one of our most important markets and to we want to have this kind of cooperation with Chinese companies,” Rechy told Beijing Review. 

When discussing future cooperation between China and Mexico, he said that one of the key areas of cooperation between the two countries is food and agriculture. 

“We are promoting a lot of e-commerce cooperation to make it easier for Mexican companies to connect with Chinese companies,” he said, “There are also opportunities to expand cooperation in science, technology and healthcare in the future.” 

Carlos Odriozola at the Argentina Beef Promotion Institute booth at the Sixth CIIE in Shanghai on November 7 (YIN KANG)  

In recent years, an increasing number of high-quality and distinctive products from Latin America have continuously entered the Chinese market, enriching the daily lives of Chinese consumers and bringing tangible benefits to Latin American enterprises and residents. In 2022, trade volume between China and Latin America reached the $500-billion milestone, maintaining high-speed growth for the sixth consecutive year. 

A long-time CIIE participant, the Argentina Beef Promotion Institute (IPCVA) also returned to the expo this year. They joined forces with 19 premium companies to showcase Argentina’s quality products and share them with CIIE attendees.  

Carlos Odriozola, director of the IPCVA, is very enthusiastic when it comes to beef. “We invite experts or do livestreams to help consumers better understand how to cook our different beefs and how to create different recipes,” he told Beijing Review. Through Chinese online platforms, people can learn more about how to use Argentine beef,” he laughed. 

IPCVA data showed that from October 2022 to September 2023, Argentina exported nearly 800,000 tons of beef, with a total value of about $3 billion. China, which bought 74 percent of this total, has become the top destination for Argentine beef exports.

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon  

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