Innovating a new model for China-Africa foreign trade cooperation: The 2020 Shandong Export Commodities (Nigeria) Cloud Exhibition was successfully held.

To thoroughly implement the important instructions of the national "Six Stability" and the provincial Party Committee's "Six Guarantees and Three Promotions" work plan, and to actively respond to the impact of the current COVID-19 epidemic on overseas exhibitions, guiding enterprises to tap into the "Belt and Road" market, the Provincial Department of Commerce utilized the resource advantages of the existing self-organized Nigeria exhibition, leveraging the advantages of the Nigerian partner unit, building a China-Africa trade platform, and assisting foreign trade enterprises in expanding international markets using online platforms. On August 31, 2020, the 2020 Shandong Export Commodities (Nigeria) Cloud Exhibition was successfully held. The exhibition was hosted by the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce, undertaken by Shandong Zhenghe International Exhibition Co., Ltd., and received strong support from the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nigeria.

This cloud exhibition was held in three phases. The first phase focused on machinery and electronics, hardware and building materials, daily consumer goods, and textile and apparel companies; the second phase was a special session for machinery, electronics, and hardware and building materials; and the third phase was a Weifang City special session.

On August 31, Xu Bingbo, a second-level inspector of the Department of Commerce, attended the exhibition and delivered a speech, mentioning that Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and largest economy, and Lagos is the largest city in West Africa. Shandong and Nigeria have strong industrial complementarity, particularly in close economic and trade cooperation in machinery and electronics, hardware and building materials, and daily necessities. From January to July this year, Shandong and Nigeria achieved import and export of 7.68 billion yuan, of which 6.48 billion yuan was export. Shandong attaches great importance to economic and trade cooperation with Nigeria and has held the Nigeria (Lagos) China Commodity Exhibition in Lagos for 12 consecutive years, achieving remarkable results and effectively promoting economic and trade exchanges between Shandong enterprises and Nigeria and the entire Africa.

Mr. Muda Joseph, General Secretary of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that China-Nigeria bilateral relations have made great progress in developing bilateral trade and strategic cooperation. According to trade data released by the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, trade volume between the two countries increased by 113% from 2016 to 2019. Nigeria imports a large number of industrial finished products from China, and the two countries also have multiple cooperation projects in Nigeria's infrastructure projects.

During the exhibition, Mr. Mogaji, a representative of the African Agricultural Products Supply Chain Group, introduced procurement needs, hoping to establish cooperation with Shandong, a major agricultural and agricultural machinery province, and hoping to establish procurement channels through the exhibition. The African Agricultural Products Supply Chain Group is an agricultural product supply chain group company in Nigeria. Established 20 years ago, it provides consulting and agricultural trade services to farmers and agricultural companies in African countries. The company cooperates with African governments to share, analyze, and process information from all aspects of agriculture, formulating relevant policies and regulations for agriculture and agricultural products.

This exhibition featured two representative enterprises: Shandong Wuzheng Group and Shandong Linyi Ruite New Energy Co., Ltd. The African market has always been a key development area for them, showcasing Shandong's industrial advantages from the agricultural machinery and new energy sectors, respectively. Wuzheng Group was founded in 1961 and is one of China's key backbone enterprises in mechanical manufacturing. Since 2006, Wuzheng Group has been committed to industrial restructuring and upgrading, fully implementing product innovation, technological innovation, and management innovation, continuously improving the competitiveness of the enterprise and its products. It has successively acquired Zhejiang Feidie Automobile Manufacturing Company and Shandong Tractor Factory, and has now cultivated six major industries: three-wheeled vehicles, automobiles, sanitation equipment, agricultural equipment, electric three-wheeled vehicles, and modern agriculture, enabling the enterprise to move towards modern manufacturing.

As an international solar energy application promotion enterprise, Linyi Ruite has made breakthrough progress through global solar energy technology exchanges and international high-end technology cooperation. Linyi Ruite has successively become the largest solar energy supplier in India, the solar energy engineering collector supplier designated by the Japanese government, the vacuum tube collector manufacturer with the highest market share in the South Korean engineering market, and the only Chinese water heater product to pass the South African government's test. Linyi Ruite's international trade has expanded to more than 60 countries and regions across six continents.

August 31 Special Session A total of 50 overseas buyers from Nigeria and 150 Shandong enterprises were organized, with nearly 200 one-on-one talks arranged.

September 1 Machinery, Electronics, Hardware and Building Materials Special Session 25 overseas buyers from Nigeria and 75 Shandong enterprises were organized, with nearly 120 one-on-one talks arranged.

September 2 Shandong Export Commodities (Nigeria) Cloud Exhibition (Weifang Special Session) This special session invited 25 overseas buyers from Nigeria's business associations and machinery, electronics, textiles and apparel, building materials, hardware, and household goods, as well as 86 enterprises from Weifang, with over 100 one-on-one talks arranged, resulting in intended purchase orders exceeding US$2 million.

The meeting was presided over by Xue Runtao, deputy director of the Weifang Municipal Bureau of Commerce. Dai Xiuyu, a level-four researcher at the Weifang Municipal Bureau of Commerce, and Muda Joseph, general secretary of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, delivered speeches online. Shandong Xingyu Glove Co., Ltd. and Shandong Saima Power Generation Equipment Co., Ltd., as typical enterprise representatives from Weifang, gave key presentations at the main venue, showcasing the brand image and high-quality products of the enterprises online.

Shandong is a major export province in China. Shandong has been organizing the Nigeria (Lagos) China Commodity Exhibition. Many buyers from Nigeria purchase products from here. For thirteen consecutive years, Shandong Zhenghe International Exhibition Co., Ltd. has been the organizer of the "China Pavilion" at the exhibition, organizing the Nigeria (Lagos) China Commodity Exhibition. It has built a strong platform for promoting trade between China and Nigeria.