Off the wire
• Liu Yunshan attends graduation ceremony of Party School study session  • Roundup: S.Korean political arena divided over President Park's address on scandal  • 1st LD: Chinese premier arrives in Latvia for official visit, China-CEE summit  • French conservative Juppe wins 2nd debate ahead of right-wing primary: pollster  • Faraday Future's billion-dollar electric car plan on hold  • 1st LD: Iraqi forces free more districts in eastern Mosul  • Gel treatment helps newborns avoid blood sugar dangers: New Zealand study  • Spotlight: SCO prime ministers' meeting gives strong boost to regional economic, security cooperation  • Urgent: Chinese premier arrives in Latvia for official visit, China-CEE summit  • Egypt hikes fuel prices in light of austerity measure  
You are here: 　 Home

Spotlight: Chinese companies look to expand trade with Cuba, provide market stability

Xinhua, November 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

More than 60 Chinese companies are present this week at the 34th Havana International Trade Fair to boost trade with Cuba.

The Chinese pavilion at ExpoCuba, a site on the outskirts of Havana, has attracted the attention of thousands of companies and entrepreneurs from all over the world.

Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Beijing's pavilion is a sign of the diverse economic relations with Cuba and it will provide advanced technology, first-class equipment and infrastructure to the island.

One of those companies is Midea, one of China's leading home appliance manufacturers, which has been in Cuba for 7 years.

"We have just started selling fans in the Cuban market. In 2013, we introduced other products like air conditioning, refrigerators and rice cookers, which have made a positive impact on the Cuban market," Gu Junqiu, Midea's manager in Cuba, told Xinhua.

Gu said that the Chinese firm and Cuba's CIMEX, the island's largest commercial corporation, recently opened a joint store to sell Midea's products. So far,their sales performance has been very good.

"We will continue cooperating with Cuban companies to introduce other products in this changing market and build a post-sales system for providing spare parts and quality service," he said.

Another popular Chinese company in Cuba is Geely Automotive, which has sold over 15,000 cars on the island since 2008, mainly for the tourism industry. Several models of the Chinese-made vehicles, which can be seen at car rental spots, are also popular among locals.

"Since the first year we entered the Cuban market, we have been successful. We will continue to provide our buyers in this country with high-quality cars which are already very well known here," Du Shaokui, one of Geely's representatives in Cuba, told Xinhua.

One of the latest technological products entering the Cuban market is the high-definition (HD) TV decoder, which is sold by the Chinese company Soyea.

Over 500,000 decoders have been sold by Soyea in Cuba in the last two years along with over 20,000 TVs, making it one of the most widespread brands on the island.

"We are about to introduce new products in the Cuban market such as Ultra HD TVs and new decoders. We are also in discussions with Cuban authorities to set up a factory on the island," said Zhao Jianhua, Soyea's general manager.

Zhao also said the Cuban market is new for Soyea but it shows great potential for development. "Cuba's geographical position is also very strategic to introduce our products in nearby markets, particularly Caribbean nations," he said.

China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner behind Venezuela.Numerous Chinese companies are involved in multiple areas of this nation's economy and development, particularly in technology, transportation, biotechnology, agricultural machinery, household appliances and textiles.

For that reason, the Cuban government has named China as a great partner in the process of updating the country's economic and social model. Endi