Photo taken on Nov. 9, 2019 shows the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, east China, where the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) is held from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

Colombia's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Andres Valencia attended the expo, expressing the country's willingness to strengthen trade ties with China.

BOGOTA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The second China International Import Expo (CIIE), which concluded Sunday in Shanghai, is "fundamental and strategic" to trade, said a Colombian leading pork exporter.

"The fair plays a fundamental and strategic role in the trade ties between China and Colombia," Matias Villalba, manager of Porkco International Marketing (C.I. Porkco), told Xinhua in a recent interview.

PorkColombia, an association gathering Colombia's main pork producers, also participated in the expo, with an aim to carve a place in the Chinese market.

Jeffrey Fajardo, executive president of PorkColombia, echoed Villalba's remarks, saying the CIIE has offered participants a valuable opportunity to make connections.

"As part of the globalization strategy of the Colombian pork producing sector, led by PorkColombia, the China International Import Expo is certainly a platform to promote export potential of our sector," Fajardo said.

At the CIIE, PorkColombia and C.I. Porkco set up a joint booth to introduce the high quality and export capacity of Colombian pork to Chinese importers.

"We want Chinese business owners to get a close look at ... the progress in the modernization of pork exports and improvements in productive parameters, which allow us to offer consumers around the world an excellent-quality meat with the highest nutritional properties," said Fajardo.

Photo taken on Nov. 9, 2019 shows the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, east China, where the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) is being held from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

Villalba said C.I. Porkco has already put China into its international marketing strategy, and now it is time to realize it.

"The expo in China allows us to make connections with business owners. Since we set the goal to globalize Colombian pork, the Asian continent has been one of the priority markets for the Colombian pork sector," said Villalba.

Photo taken on Nov. 9, 2019 shows the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, east China, where the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) is being held from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

Colombia's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Andres Valencia attended the expo, expressing the country's willingness to strengthen trade ties with China.

"At PorkColombia, we know that to become pork exporters we must work on three fronts: sanitary diplomacy, the preparation of the exportable product and marketing," said Fajardo.

Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez's state visit to China in July "marked the start of the first front: high-level sanitary diplomacy," Fajardo added.

According to Colombian government data, the South American country produced 410,000 tons of pork last year, contributing to about 1.4 percent of the country's agricultural gross domestic products. ■