Wenzhou merchant Yu Anlin, who has been doing business in Russia for more than a decade, is very excited about his new title as the Zhejiang trade representative in Russia. He has just made a proposal for the co-founding of a standardized mutual market between China and Russia, hoping that the new regulations will solve the “grey customs clearances” problem. His new role gives him more confidence about the implementation of his proposal.

Together with Yu, 16 other Zhejiang trade representatives were appointed for one year by the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province to countries and regions such as America, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Nigeria and Botswana.

“We want to take advantage of the network built up by the Zhejiang merchants abroad to promote the exports of Zhejiang,” said Zhang Shuming, chief of the Foreign Economy Section from the Zhejiang Province commerce department.

Though shrinking by 12.5% due to the world financial crisis, Zhejiang’s export volume still accounted for 1/9 of China’s exports in 2009. The impact was due more to trade protectionism than the decline of demand.

The appointment of trade representatives will further expand international the province’s market and promote foreign investment. Hu Weikang, the commerce department’s deputy director, said trade representatives were expected to help settle trade disputes in local regions, develop exhibition resources and launch projects, among other duties. They also will send the latest business information back regularly.

To become a Zhejiang trade representative, one needs to be familiar with the local political and economic regulations and be aware of the customs and culture of the country one is assigned to. In addition, a good relationship with the local government and business circle is essential. The commerce department will appoint more representatives as required.

By Hu Yanxiang

Editor: Linda