ILOILO CITY entrepreneurs have been invited to visit Fujian province in China by officials from the municipality of Quanzhou, to participate in the Quanzhou Maritime Silk Road International Brand Expo.
Quanzhou recently forged sister-city ties with Iloilo City.
“We invite the local enterprises here to join our expo to enhance further our economic ties. We hope we can avail of this opportunity to invite Iloilo City to send in more delegation to promote Iloilo City as well,” Vice Secretary-General of the Quanzhou Municipal People’s Government, Wen Jinhui said.
With a population of 8.6 million, Quanzhou is also hoping to encourage more travel to Iloilo City.
Maria Victoria Lea Lara, executive director of the Iloilo Business Club (IBC) said she values the opportunity to observe trade shows in China and possibly adopt best practices.
“From our end, we would like to see how they organize trade fairs. It can also be a learning experience for us,” Ms. Lara said.
Ritchel A. Gavan, head of the Iloilo City Local Economic Investments Promotions Office (LEIPO) said there was also an opportunity to promote and upgrade the quality of Iloilo products to be sold in China.
“Our local products will be upgraded in terms of packaging and labeling, presentation, marketing…This will expose them to the foreign market… and at the same time China will be able to see what the products of Iloilo City are as well,” she said.
Mayor Jose S. Espinosa III said the opportunity is likely to be attractive to Filipino-Chinese businessmen who have roots in Fujian.
“Quanzhou is very progressive and them coming directly to us is an indication that our relationship with them is serious,” he noted.
The Silk Road refers to the ancient trade routes between China and the West — by land through Central Asia and by sea through Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. — Emme Rose Santiagudo
