BUSINESS FLIGHT OFFERS NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Ding Yandong, general manager of a company in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, is making a groundbreaking business trip to Europe this month.

To showcase his company's products, he has included samples weighing a total of 30 kilograms in his luggage.

"I am extremely excited about this trip," said Ding, general manager of Ningbo Rollmax Shutter Component Co.

Having lost face-to-face contact with overseas customers for the past three years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ding faced the possibility of losing one of his biggest clients.

His Polish client was bought by a company that he had never been in contact with. Due to difficulties in online communication, this company intended to replace Rollmax with a new supplier.

"My customer used to place a $1 million order every year. This year's order has been delayed, and it was hard for me to meet the new company face-to-face, which made me really anxious," Ding said.

The pandemic has hampered the development of foreign-trade companies, which have found it difficult to take part in negotiations and offline exhibitions abroad.

Ningbo Rollmax Shutter Component Co is one of more than 24,000 small and medium-sized foreign-trade companies in Ningbo.

On July 10, Ding was among the 36 passengers－all from foreign-trade companies in Ningbo－who left for Budapest, the Hungarian capital, on a chartered flight for a 12-day European business tour.

It was first round-trip business flight from China since the pandemic emerged.

At Ningbo Lishe International Airport, Chen Zhicheng, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce, told those leaving for Budapest, "We hope you seize this opportunity to attract more clients and harvest more orders."

Companies surveyed

The Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Commerce conducted a survey of 1,982 local companies whose annual import and export values exceed $10 million. The survey found that to date this year, 40 percent of the companies had received fewer purchase orders from foreign customers than they did during the same period last year.

To help foreign-trade companies venture abroad and address such problems, the authorities in Ningbo set up a special team on June 13 comprising officials from departments such as commerce, public security, finance, transportation, health, foreign affairs, culture and tourism.

The chartered flight to Budapest was the result of 27 days of hard work by the team. Ding said, adding, "For me, this flight is as important as the $1 million order."

Free Wi-Fi services were offered during the flight, which was operated by China Eastern Airlines.

After arriving in Budapest, Ding traveled to Warsaw, capital of Poland, to meet his new Polish client.

On July 12, Ding reached a $1 million agreement after negotiations that lasted three hours, during which he and the client discussed details of the deal.

"In addition to all the samples I packed, I also brought a solution to our problems that the client had requested, but which we had been unable to come up with before," Ding said.

Ding suggested the solution to technicians before making the trip to Europe, after reviewing all the client's requirements and sticking points.

"Obviously, the solution worked. The client clearly recognizes our sincerity and our strengths," he said.

Clients excited

Wei Guowen, general manager of a toy manufacturer in Ningbo, was also a passenger on the flight to Budapest. She had not traveled overseas since 2020.

Her to-do list, which she drew up before the flight, included meeting 10 clients, following up projects under negotiation, visiting Italian partners, and making three new contacts.

"Our clients were so excited that they put off their summer holidays in order to meet us," Wei said. "I took 'Xiao Yi', our original toy figurine, with me and I also aim to share the latest information about the Chinese market with foreign customers."

The flight to Budapest was also taken by Sun Chonglong, executive director of Ningbo Lianbang Changyun International Trade Co. Sun plans to introduce more products from Central and Eastern European countries to Chinese customers.

Last year, his company placed a $10 million order for Hungarian beef with a beef producer in Budapest.

"I have always wanted to discuss the details of beef processing and packaging with my partner face-to-face," Sun said. "Compared with communicating online, meeting in-person creates more possibilities. That's why I applied for a seat on the chartered flight as soon as I heard about it."

Sun visited the beef producer in Budapest on July 11. Two days later, Sun's company, which will spend $200 million importing beef over the next five years, signed a contract to be the sole agent for the Hungarian producer.

New hope

The flight from Ningbo was welcomed by Hao Weibin, head of the Hungary Chinese Tour Guide Association, who acted as guide for the group's trip to Europe.

When Hao took the arrivals from Ningbo to the China Commodity Exhibition Center in Budapest on July 11, he was asked how, in view of the pandemic, it was possible for such a group to travel to Hungary.

He replied, "The local authorities launched a chartered flight especially for foreign-trade companies." He added that many tour guides have changed their jobs since 2020, and that his family members had lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

The trip to Europe－the first tour group from China that Hao has led for two years－has given him fresh hope.

"When I was told I would be the tour guide two weeks ago, I didn't believe that the trip would go ahead, but it has really happened," Hao said.

"Ningbo has made a breakthrough, and I hope that more cities follow in its footsteps. I also believe that more tour groups will travel from China to Europe."

Safety assured

The tour group was headed by Fei Jianming, director of the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Commerce's foreign trade promotion department.

In his tour diary, which was published in Ningbo Daily on July 10, Fei wrote, "The launch of the chartered flight is the first step, but there is still a long way to go.

"We need to promote cooperation between Ningbo and foreign companies while strictly implementing epidemic prevention measures. To ensure the safety of our group members, health experts from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention are traveling with us."

According to the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Commerce, more chartered flights will be made available for foreign-trade companies nationwide, and the authorities will help reduce travel costs.

On Thursday, a second group of foreign-trade entrepreneurs was due to leave Ningbo for Milan, Italy.

To enable foreign-trade enterprises to better access the international market, the authorities in Ningbo began promoting exhibition services last month among companies that have had difficulty taking part in offline exhibitions overseas.

As part of this service, Chinese companies send their products to exhibition sites, and prospective purchasers can contact the companies online at these venues.

The authorities in Zhejiang have introduced measures to stabilize foreign trade and investment, and to tackle difficulties faced by businesses.

These steps are aimed at boosting cross-border trade by streamlining the process for businesspeople to enter and leave China, with 24-hour special service windows being planned to quickly issue the documents that such visitors require.

The measures also seek to expand markets, provide support for small businesses in international maritime logistics, reduce financing costs for enterprises, and facilitate settlement in international trade and investment.

Investment support

Foreign businesspeople arriving in Zhejiang will be offered support to engage in investment, entrepreneurship, scientific research, and trade activities during their stay. More chartered business flights will be arranged and the number of scheduled flights will be increased.

The measures that have been introduced will result in at least 50 overseas exhibitions being organized to help enterprises explore the international market and boost their development.

Zhejiang will also provide one-off financial support for the establishment of regional headquarters or research and development centers by foreign-funded enterprises in the province.

In addition, a regular communication mechanism between provincial leaders, heads of multinationals, and people responsible for major investment projects in leading companies, such as those on the Fortune Global 500 list, will be established to promote further cooperation.

Last year, Zhejiang's total import and export volume ranked third in China.