Feature: Chinese companies go int'l at Italian world expo

A variety of Chinese companies have stepped out onto the world stage at Expo Milano 2015, the world exposition which takes place here from May 1 to Oct. 31.

"Many visitors asked me where they could buy my shoes," said Liu Qiongying, founder of Sheme, a woman's shoe brand from Chengdu that combines traditional Chinese cultural elements and Western fashion.

"I wish one day they will be able to find my shoes everywhere in the world," she told Xinhua in an interview.

The brand, which targets the high-end market, was first created by Liu in 1998 as a small business. At the end of 2013, Sheme debuted its "Butterfly and Blossoms" collection at London Fashion Week, becoming the first Chinese footwear brand to exhibit at the renowned show.

Liu noted that the Chinese manufacturing industry over the past 30 years of economic development had achieved significant results in terms of technology, quality and design, and thus was ready to go international. But she especially stressed the value of cultural ambassadors of brands like Sheme.

"We are just making shoes, but a fine pair of shoes can be a showcase of Chinese culture in the world," she explained to Xinhua.

In order to make her vision real, she has invited designers from Italy and France to join her company and incorporate Chinese elements into their fine embroidery techniques to boost her brand's global standing.

Integration and internationalization were also key words for Yan Xijun, founder of Tasly Holding Group, a leading pharmaceutical company from China which, with over 20 years of technological innovation, has made breakthroughs in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

In a forum held here on Sunday, Yan, who is also the deputy director of the China Association of Chinese Medicine, highlighted the potential of modern TCM in contributing to the progress of medical sciences in a world of common health challenges, and keep pace with the transformation of disease spectrum and patients' demands.

"Innovations have never stopped in China," and Tasly integrates "the TCM experience from thousands of years with modern scientific research and technology," Yan stressed. The forum attracted leading medical specialists from China, Europe and the United States.

On Sunday, Tasly also celebrated European market entry of its Deepure tea, produced throughout selected tea leaves from China's Yunnan province, where tea plants grow at high altitudes, the air is clean, and the soil moist. The tea will be first launched in Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania.

Expo Milano 2015 was a launch platform into the European market for another Chinese company, Beingmate Baby and Child Food Company Ltd, engaged in the research, development, production, and distribution of infant food products.

Thanks to a cooperation agreement reached with Irish Kerry Group, Beingmate has introduced the Beingmate Love Plus infant formula, Beingmate Chairman Wang Zhentai said at a presentation of the product held at the Expo's Irish pavilion.

In an interview with Xinhua, Wang underlined the internationalization path now pursued by Beingmate, after the company had already received strong recognition in China.

The theme of Expo Milano 2015 "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life," dedicated to healthy and sustainable nutrition, perfectly matches with Beingmate's objectives, he said.

"Beingmate considers food safety as a top priority. We have to make sure that our babies are raised with the best products," Wang told Xinhua.

The chairman underlined the progress made by Chinese law in recent years in strengthening control of food safety, which will further boost trust on Chinese infant food and improve the industry development at the global level. Endit