29th June 2011

After several years of preparations, CBTC (China Brand Trade Center) opened its gates with the ‘Exhibition of Zhejiang Province Brand Products with Business Forum’ in Budapest on 29 June, 2011. The centre for branded and competitive Chinese products and their manufacturers is the extension of the AsiaCenter concept, where visitors can contact Asian traders and investors directly, cost-effectively while saving time.

CBTC (China Brand Trade Center) provides an opportunity to introduce Chinese companies manufacturing high-demand products, applying developed technologies, in the Central and Eastern European region. Zhejiang, China’s most developed and richest province with a population of 52 million, supports CBTC both at provincial and central government level as the only overseas project in 2011. The province located on the South-Eastern shores is an economic catalyst in China, its GDP is 379 billion USD per year. The economic management of the province created a new business model with the opening of the center, to which they are committed in the long run. This new platform is aimed at the mutual trade and investment incentives between companies.

“The foundation of this centre is a brand new concept, because Chinese manufacturers can contact their European customers directly; this is how trust evolves through communication, which is very important in China. This leads to new cooperation opportunities” – spokesperson of CBTC, Eszter Soós said. “With CBTC we can provide perspectives in demand and supply as well.” She emphasized that Zhejiang moving in provided the basis on which the Chinese can build a hub in CEE which will be the first step on a modern Silk Road.

The key sectors of the CBTC concept are: automobile parts, construction materials, electronics and renewable energy related products and services. 36 companies came from Zhejiang province representing diverse industries like automotive, renewable energy, machinery, chemical industry, sport equipment and textile industry.

Based on previous experience Eszter Soós, spokesperson of CBTC expects more than a thousand negotiations and new business contacts between the Chinese and European businesspeople in three days after the opening. Though, Eszter Soós noted that the real success of CBTC can be estimated in a year of time.