India Promotes Goods At Commodity Fair In Yiwu

BEIJING: The Indian Consulate in Shanghai organised 'India week celebrations' at a commodities fair in Yiwu, which is the world's biggest commodity market, to promote Indian goods and distinct art forms like Madhubani paintings. 

The India week celebrations in Yiwu coincided with the participation of a 30-plus member delegation of Indian companies under the umbrella of Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts (EPCH) - which organised a large scale Indian pavilion at the 'Yiwu Annual Imported Commodities Fair'.

India was the guest of honour country at the fair which got started yesterday. 

Yiwu is the world's biggest commodity market. The Indian participation showcased under the Indian Pavilion included works of Indian embroidery, Madhubani paintings, fine wood carvings from Rajasthan, and other distinct forms of art work from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and Gujarat, the Consulate said in a statement. 

Yiwu also shares a special relationship with India, given that nearly 2,200 Indian nationals (mostly traders) are long term residents in Yiwu city and constitute the largest foreign community in this small commodity metropolis in eastern China. 

India was also Yiwu's largest bilateral trading partner in 2016. 

It may also be noted that Party Secretary of Yiwu Qiu Shenping led a high level delegation to India last week from May 3-6 and visited Mumbai and Delhi, with a specific objective of promoting bilateral trade with small and medium enterprises from India. 

"During his visit, an Yiwu promotion event was also organised by CII in New Delhi on May 5, where a large number of Indian SME's and members from small commodity trading community were present. Party Secretary also interacted with the Reliance Group and TATA Retail during the Mumbai leg of the visit," the statement said. 

A special cultural dance performance by Indian artists led by Namrata Dhawan, along with Salom and other Indian artists were held to mark the opening of the India week. 

Consulate General of India in Shanghai along with Yiwu government jointly, also organised a photo exhibition on Buddhism which was attended by a large number of art lovers from Yiwu including participants at the fair. 

Indian films such as "PK", "Three Idiots", "English Vinglish", "Taare Zameen Par" and "Queen" were screened as part of the fair with Chinese subtitles. 

"All these events showcasing various facets of India received very enthusiastic response from Yiwu audiences as large number of local people turned up to participate in the India Week celebrations," the statement said.

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