Zhanjiang, a port city in South China's Guangdong province, is working to build an international cooperation platform for the aquatic industry, encouraging local businesses to use foreign investment and other resources to expand their domestic and foreign markets.

One such effort is the 2016 China International Aquatic Products Exhibition, which has been an annual event in the city since 2014.

The event will kick off in Zhanjiang on June 18 and is scheduled to last for three days.

"We have built the exhibition into the second-largest trade show in China for aquatic products," said Zhuang Xiaodong, Zhanjiang's deputy mayor. He added that the event will help local businesses explore larger markets for their products in China and overseas.

Zhuang said the city has a complete aquatic products industry chain, from aquatic feed production, breeding, cultivation and seafood processing to the final logistics, with all the sectors coordinating well to improve the local industry's competitiveness in the market.

Recognizing the solid foundation of Zhanjiang's aquatic industry, in 2011 the Ministry of Commerce designated the city as a demonstration base for upgrading the country's aquatic industry and the aquatic products trade.

Since then, the aquatic industry has become a pillar of the local economy and exports of aquatic products have grown quickly, now accounting for around 30 percent of the city's annual exports.

However, the city's aquatic products trade reached its peak in 2013 and 2014 with total exports and imports surpassing $800 million in both years.

Foreign trade decreased a little last year due to weakening demand in foreign countries and rising domestic labor costs.

And in the first three months of 2016, the city's aquatic products trade totaled 713 million yuan ($109 million).

On the other hand, local companies have already taken efforts to adjust to the downturn, with some of them putting their focus on investing directly in foreign countries, according to Zhuang.

Ten companies from Zhanjiang have established operations in members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with their total investment reaching $634 million in the past five years.

The investments have mainly gone to the aquatic products industries in countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

(China Daily 05/30/2016 page5)