Sinopec, the giant oil company with over 27,000 service stations in China, entered into an agreement with the Beijing Sri Road Connection Trade Company Limited during the Shanghai CIIE, to import and market Sri Lanka Food and Beverage products at their convenience stores. The contract is worth over USD 0.8 million.

The agreement between Sinopec and Beijing Sri Road will facilitate further expansion of Sri Lanka F & B products in the lucrative Chinese market., CEO of Beijing Sri Road Connection Trade Company Limited Chiranjaya Udumullage, and Deputy Manager of International Sales of Sinopec Wang Qian signed the agreement.

In a statement, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing notes, “This connect with Sinopec is indeed special, as this year is a significant landmark for both Sri Lanka and China. The year commemorates the 65th Anniversary of establishing bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 70th anniversary of the Rubber – Rice Pact.”

The 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai was held from 5 to 10 November, 2022. There were two Sri Lankan pavilions; Food & Beverage and the Gems and Jewellery section. The China – Sri Lanka Association for Trade and Economic Cooperation voluntarily took charge and organized the Sri Lanka pavilion with the support of the Embassy of Sri Lanka and member companies of the Association and others. This is the 5th time that Sri Lanka has participated, maintaining a presence at the event. This presence is considered essential since companies which participated in the CIIE were able to achieve remarkable success with daily sales at the pavilion topping RMB 500,000 and over 160 trade inquiries.

The CIIE is the largest trade Fair in China for global companies to access the biggest consumer market in the world; the Chinese market.