Chinese firms to travel abroad in search of trade deals

This aerial photo taken on Oct. 2, 2023 shows a container ship docking at an automation wharf of Qinzhou Port for unloading in Qinzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China plans to arrange overseas trips for a large number of foreign trade companies in 2024 to help them make deals and expand their markets.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) said on Monday that it will arrange for more than 1,000 groups of enterprises to visit foreign countries this year to participate in exhibitions, conduct market research and hold business talks.

According to the CCPIT, these foreign visits will prioritize important trade and economic partners such as Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Latin America.

CCPIT head Ren Hongbin said at a national meeting on foreign trade promotion that the council will make further efforts to assist Chinese firms in expanding their overseas markets in 2024.

Official data shows that China's foreign trade stood at 41.76 trillion yuan (about 5.88 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 0.2 percent year on year in yuan terms.