Central China Fair attracts over 500 overseas companies

ZHENGZHOU - The 23rd Zhengzhou National Commodity Fair closed Sunday in Zhengzhou, capital city of Central China's Henan province, attracting over overseas 500 companies from more than 20 countries and regions.

A quarter of the total display area was dedicated to imported commodities, the biggest since the fair was launched in 1995.

"The fair features commodities from countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Chen Xiaofeng, the office director of the Zhengzhou international convention center company.

Chen added that the fair attracted many foreign companies because of the city's logistics advantages and fast-developing cross-border e-commerce.

Zhengzhou launched China-Europe cargo train services in 2013. A single trip takes between 11 days and 14 days, 25 days shorter compared with sea transportation.

As one of 15 pilot cities for cross-border e-commerce in China, Zhengzhou handled 34.34 million cross-border parcels in the first half of 2017, accounting for 33.45 percent of the total in the pilot cities.

"Geological boundaries of trade are being broken by the fast-developing cross-border logistics industry, and Henan, in the country's heartland, is full of opportunities," said Xu Ningning, executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council, who attended the opening ceremony.