TIANJIN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Enkh-orgil, a merchant from Mongolia, is busy introducing her cashmere products at an ongoing annual international trade fair in north China's Tianjin Municipality.
"This is the latest design," she said in fluent Chinese. At her stand she has all kinds of cashmere products, including overcoats, scarves, and sweaters.
The China Tianjin International Fair for Investment and Trade, an annual event since 1994,opened last Friday. It highlighted cooperation among Belt and Road countries this year.
"But my main purpose is not to sell goods. I came here hoping that more and more Chinese customers will know and accept cashmere products from Mongolia," she said."I dream of opening stores in China's main cities."
According to China's Ministry of Commerce, China has been Mongolia's biggest trade partner for more than ten consecutive years with bilateral trade up 44.2 percent year on year to reach 3.1 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2017. More and more merchants from Mongolia are seeking business opportunities in China.
In 2013, Enkh-orgil came to China to obtain an MBA degree and studied Chinese at Dalian Maritime University in northeast China's Liaoning Province. She started to work for "GOBI" Mongolian Cashmere, a cashmere company in Mongolia, after graduation and was soon assigned to China and became a store manager in Erenhot city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
"We had quite good sales for the first year, but our company is only known in Erenhot," she said. "Our company has opened stores in Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, and some countries in Europe and the United States. I think we should have more stores in major Chinese cities."
In recent years, economic cooperation and cultural exchange between China and Mongolia have been improved. The two countries are building the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, and activities such as the China-Mongolia Expo have been held.
Enkh-orgil sees the Belt and Road Initiative as a great opportunity for Mongolia's products to enter the Chinese market.
"Mongolia's cashmere products have fine quality and good price, but its design needs to be improved as Chinese consumers have quite sophisticated taste," she added.
Enkh-orgil sold a sweater and a pair of trousers in about an hour, and Ariun, another exhibitor from Mongolia, sold a belt, a wallet, and a name card holder, all made of leather.
Ariun, a student at Tianjin University of Technology, is helping her brother's stand sell leather products at the fair.
"I came to China as I was attracted by the opportunities that come along with cooperation between the two countries," she said.
She plans to join her brother's business and explore the Chinese market after graduation. "I am optimistic about the market in China," she said.
The fair will last five days. This year, the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce has sent 11 companies and individuals to the fair, mostly bringing cashmere and leather products.
