Guinea-Bissau, a country located on the west coast of Africa, is gearing up for its debut at the country exhibition of the sixth China International Import Expo, which will take place from Nov 5 to 10 in Shanghai.

The country is one of the world's largest producers of cashew nuts. More than 80 percent of its workforce is in the cashew nut industry, and cashew nuts constitute more than 90 percent of its total exports. Cashew nuts are thus not only a crucial income source for the locals but also a key driver of the country's economy.

To tap into the Chinese market, Guinea-Bissauan companies attended the fifth CIIE in 2022 and showcased their products at a free 18-square-meter booth. The booth was free because the CIIE offers complimentary exhibition booths to exhibitors from the least developed countries in the world every year.

During last year's expo, many enterprises expressed a strong interest in Guinea-Bissau's cashew nut business and some of them even planned to invest in Guinea-Bissau, said Antonio Serifo Embalo, ambassador of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau to China.

Wu Yongtao, who is responsible for handling Guinea-Bissauan cashew nut companies' business in China, said he served over a dozen buyers every day during the fifth CIIE, and that the samples on display were nearly sold out, which far surpassed his expectations.

Building on the success at the previous year's business exhibition, Guinea-Bissau is confident about its debut in this year's country exhibition.

A crucial component of the sixth CIIE, this year's country exhibition will be held fully offline and feature over 60 countries.

Over the past five expos, 131 countries and international organizations have participated in the country exhibition.

The CIIE will continue to offer free booths and cost reduction measures for the least developed countries like Guinea-Bissau, and help more products from such countries enter the Chinese market.

By Zhao Guangmei