Kiwi businesses shine at Shanghai’s mega trade expo

It is not until you land in a city such as Shanghai that you realise just how small New Zealand is.

With a population of 24 million, it is China’s most populated urban area and home to many New Zealand exporters doing business in the country, such as Synlait Milk, Zespri, and Fonterra.

Despite being nearly 10,000km away, Shanghai doesn’t feel like a world away from Auckland.

Flight times and time zones mean you can have dinner at home, depart Auckland just before midnight, and wake up on approach into Pudong International Airport 12 hours later at just 7am local time.

The China International Import Expo mascot welcoming visitors to Shanghai at Pudong International Airport

I travelled to Shanghai in early November for the China International Import Expo (CIIE). Despite writing about the Chinese market several times a week, it was my first time travelling there.

The trip proved why it is so incredibly important for journalists to get out from behind their desks and experience the real world—whether that be just down the road or 10,000km away.

CIIE is a significant event in Shanghai’s business calendar. Over US$80 billion in intended deals were reached at the event, up a slight 2 percent year on year.

The event’s significance is evident as soon as you land. Disembarking from the plane, there are advertisements, a dedicated line at customs for attendees, bunting lining the motorway, and, when I was there, a digital billboard along The Bund.

The expo has been held annually for seven years and was set up as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Forum.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan at the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo, held in Shanghai in 2018

New Zealand had a delegation of 70 businesses—the country’s largest yet—led by Trade Minister Todd McClay. The event was themed “New Era, Shared Future.”

Across the week, 24 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and supply agreements were signed between NZ and Chinese companies.

The expo is held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, near Hongqiao Airport, with exhibitions from all over the world covering 420,000sq m.

Four months later, I still can’t describe the scale of the event—particularly as someone used to charging around Mystery Creek Fieldays in gumboots in the middle of June.

I spent two days at the expo and, at a guess, could have spent another three there just to see every country’s site.

Riley: "...it’s easy to see why our exporters invest significant resources into the expo."

China is an incredibly important market for NZ’s primary producers, so it’s easy to see why our exporters invest significant resources into the expo.

In the year to June, NZ exported $20.4 billion in goods and services to China, including $6b in dairy, $3b in wood, and $2.4b in meat.

New Zealand had its own site, which hosted the Meat Industry Association, Deer Industry NZ, and other businesses and industry groups.

Meanwhile, larger exporters like Fonterra, Zespri, and Yili-owned Oceania Dairy and Westland Milk Products had large, interactive sites—around 200sq m—with their management teams making the trip over from New Zealand for the event.

 Personally, the experience demonstrated why being seen at these events in the Chinese market is crucial.

Fonterra’s chief executive, Miles Hurrell—one of several NZ-based chief executives to make the trip—told me in an interview at the co-op’s site that, given the event is government-run, it was important for Fonterra to be seen supporting it.

“At the same time, it’s very much a commercial lens as well. It is a bit of both, which does differ from other [events] in the world where we might go and showcase our products.”

The Silver Fern Farms expo site at this year's event

I spent quite a bit of time between the Silver Fern Farms and Synlait Milk sites, both located in the Bright Group’s area.

The state-owned food group has stakes in both businesses, through two of its listed subsidiaries—Bright Dairy and Bright Meat, which was until recently known as Shanghai Maling.

While I was there, Silver Fern Farms’ product was being sold via a livestream, which was fascinating to me, someone who generally just buys a steak from the local supermarket.

For Silver Fern, chief executive Dan Boulton said CIIE was about representing Bright and its importance within the Bright Group.

CIIE was the one event that customers and other partners in China attended.

“It’s really important if you want to grow, show innovation, and understand what’s new. You’ve got to be here to really showcase it and also test and learn from your customers,” Boulton said.

Outside of the expo, I attended the reopening of New Zealand Central—a flexible working and meeting space and event venue conveniently located in Shanghai’s trendy Xintiadi precinct.

I found it fascinating to be so far from home yet surrounded by so many familiar faces.

I also visited Fonterra’s Application Centre in Shanghai and one of Bright Dairy’s processing factories, about an hour and a half’s drive out of the city.

Both visits were eye-opening to the scale and size of the Chinese market.

While I was only on the ground for five days, the action-packed, whirlwind trip was an incredible experience.

It gave me the opportunity to see first-hand NZ’s largest market and build valuable contacts in both New Zealand and China for future reporting.

The Foundation's Media Programme helps New Zealand journalists cover stories that shed light on Asia and on New Zealand’s ties to the region.

Our Media Travel Grants provide New Zealand journalists with funding to travel independently to Asia to research and prepare stories – to help demystify Asia for New Zealand audiences.