Trade Mission Signing Ceremony with China Forestry Group Corporation
The 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) was held from November 5 to 10, 2022 at the National Exhibition & Convention Center in Shanghai, hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Shanghai municipal government. This year’s CIIE attracted nearly 461,000 participants from 145 countries, sub-national government partners and international organizations. More than 2,800 enterprises, including 284 of the Fortune 500 enterprises gathered to showcase their products and services at the business exhibition. The total value of deals signed at the CIIE came to $73.52 billion this year, up 3.9 percent from last year. The expo also welcomed 39 trade missions and nearly 600 sub-trade missions. More than 600 intended deals were reached at 82 project signing ceremonies, with a total of 293 cooperation intention agreements involving $5.9 billion worth of products and services being signed at trade and investment matchmaking conferences during the expo.
On November 7, Canada Wood China (CW China) participated in the signing ceremony of China Forestry Group Corporation (CFGC), the largest national-level enterprise in China’s forestry industry. CFGC is a company that was merged from nine enterprises that operated under the former Ministry of Forestry, which was approved by the State Council of China. At present, it operates 224 enterprises across the world, and holds a significant role in China’s forestry industries. To support the realization of the dual carbon goals in China, the company is committed to linking domestic and international resources to build a national green development platform.
For the ceremony, China Forestry Epoch Wood Structure Technology (CFEWST) signed a Letter of Intention (LOI) with CW China based on their plans to purchase larger volumes of Canadian wood structure technologies and products, with the LOI representing a value of 20 million USD. As a large state-owned enterprise dealing with timber and forest products, CFEWST has established long-term and stable cooperative relationships with many domestic and foreign timber suppliers. Their business network has spread across the majority of provinces in China, with operations at more than 20 ports. Giving full play to the synergistic effect of export and import operations, the company coordinates with international and domestic partners to promote the sustainable development of the forestry industry in China. As part of these efforts, CFEWST is investing in new production facilities in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province to increase their capacity to produce wood-building components. CW China will work together with CFEWST to support the development of wood structures in China and promote the application of Canadian wood products in construction. With the commitment of large entities such as CFGC to low-carbon development opportunities, it shows there are ongoing opportunities to grow bilateral trade between China and Canada in the area of green construction products and carbon mitigation solutions such as sustainably harvested wood materials.