China’s newest ally El Salvador gets pride of place at import expo
- Small countries shine for Chinese buyers with vibrant national displays
- US, Japan stay away but their private sectors dominate in company exhibits
At the centre of the country exhibition hall at Shanghai’s high-profile import fair is a booth promoting a tiny country: El Salvador, China’s newest diplomatic ally.
While national exhibitions by major powers the United States and Japan were nowhere to be found, the Central American nation was placed by the organisers in the best position to sell itself to Chinese businessmen attending the six-day China International Import Expo.
“Where is this country?” dozens of Chinese passers-by stopped and asked as they saw the eye-catching display in the middle of the venue, surrounded by Beijing’s traditional allies with fancier and bigger booths from Pakistan, Russia, South Africa and Indonesia.
“We are in Central America, and we produce very good coffee and sugar,” the Salvadoran man said as he offered free coffee to visitors.
The country exhibition, one of the many halls at the expo, attracted 80 countries to set up government-arranged booths to display their “signature products” in the six-day fair, which ends on Saturday.