2020年CRI South African SMEs actively participate in CIIE

 

A growing number of small and medium enterprises from South Africa are attending this year's China International Import Expo, hoping to expand their overseas market.

At a workshop in Cape¹ Town, Pieter De Villiers is working meticulously² on his laser cutting products.

He and his partner Riaan Kirstein set up their laser cutting business named Purple Puppy Studio 7 years ago, making home decor, decals, gifts and other creative products.

Kirstein says they are carving³ out a unique way of doing business.

"We try to be very exclusive. Everything we do is custom-made for our clients. Two years ago, we also decided⁴ to develop our own range of stuff that we produce in the market. That's when the fynbos lamp-shades came from. We mainly do wood and paper. We try and not do a lot of plastic stuff. Just to keep our carbon footprint low."

Purple Puppy Studio is one of the 20 small and medium enterprises from South Africa that will attend this year's China International Import Expo.

Although this is the first time for them to go to China, it's not the first connection with the Chinese market.

The laser cutting machine they bought 7 years ago to start their business was made in China. And over the years, they've bought quite a lot of materials made in China.

"The thing that excites me about going to China is that the machine is from China, the technology is from China, the material is from China and we locally produce it here. and now we are taking it back to China. I'm very excited."

Kirstein says shortly after he registered online for the CIIE, some Chinese companies contacted him and expressed interest in possible cooperation.

He says the CIIE is providing plenty of opportunities for their small business to expand overseas, especially in the Chinese market.

"The Chinese market I think is fascinating. I think it will be an opportunity for us to export to the east. The Chinese market is a newly developed market, especially for South Africa. My idea is also not only go, promote and sell our products. I would also like to see from Chinese people that come to me . If I can find a client there and deal directly with the client. For me it's beneficial to do both ways."

Thirty-two South African companies are going to taking part in this year's CIIE, a significant increase compared to twelve companies last year.

China has been South Africa's largest trading partner for ten years, and South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for nine years.

Bilateral⁵ trade volume reached 43.5 billion US dollars in 2018.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 meticulously   

adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心

参考例句：

• The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的，雕刻着神圣符文，而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
• She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句

3 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。