(CIIE) Interview: Czech exporter expects more business opportunities at China's import expo and beyond

The opening ceremony of the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum is held in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Vyskocil, a Czech businessman who traveled to Shanghai Friday to attend the expo for the second time, recalled his participation in the first edition of CIIE back in 2018, calling it "a good occasion" for foreign companies to showcase their products to China.

PRAGUE, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Present at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) for the sixth time in a row, Czech drinks exporter BlueTouch Export is keen for more business opportunities in the growing Chinese market.

"I think the Chinese market will grow very fast compared to other countries, and there is a big potential for exporters to find the customers," Marek Vyskocil, founder of BlueTouch Export, told Xinhua in a recent interview, "I expect we will again meet more people and maybe more people like to buy our wine from the warehouse we have in China."

The company has been exporting mostly alcoholic drinks to Asia for nearly 10 years. Exclusively representing Lahofer, one of the biggest wineries in the Czech Republic, Vyskocil said his company will bring a variety of wines to the expo running from Nov. 5 to 10 in Shanghai.

"We know that the Czech Republic is not so known for wine production in the world, so we are going to these fairs to show the products and to tell the new potential customers we are here," he said.

According to Vyskocil, high quality plus fair price would be an advantage of the Czech wine. Still, there is much work to do for the Czech wine to be known in China.

"People are using wine as a present in China. If you bring a French wine, which is well known... and then a Czech wine, it would be something new and special," he explained.

People walk past an electronic poster of the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the Hongqiao Railway Station in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

Vyskocil, who traveled to Shanghai Friday to attend the expo for the second time, recalled his participation in the first edition of CIIE back in 2018, calling it "a good occasion" for foreign companies to showcase their products to China.

"For me, the first impression was very positive because there were many visitors. We met many new people and were able to show and introduce our products to new clients," he said, "In this first edition, we were there together with our distributor for the wine, and he was making many new contacts on this expo, so we were able to sell more products to China."

Besides wine products, BlueTouch Export will also present Czech beer from centuries-old brewery Bohemia Regent, and absinthe from distillery L'Or at this year's expo to explore more business opportunities.

"In the COVID time, it was very hard to keep the connections with our distributors for the beer and absinthe. So this is for us a new start to build the new connections and find the new distributors for the beer and the absinthe or honey wine," Vyskocil told Xinhua.

As a businessman who travels to China several times each year, Vyskocil said he has had the opportunity to witness China's growth and ongoing innovation in Chinese products over the years.

"This year I was three times in China already... I like to do business with Chinese people because this is a country which is growing very fast compared to other countries in the world," he said.