Editor’s note:

On August 30, 2019, the Kunming Area of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as "Kunming Area") was formally inaugurated. Over the past year, the Kunming Area has been centering on the development of economy, continuously optimizing the business environment and promoting the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure. It has actively integrated into the construction of Belt and Road Initiative, and strengthened international cooperation with other countries. To review what Kunming Area of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone has achieved, the Kunming Information Hub specially launches a talk show called Global Opinions of Kunming Area of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and invites overseas people to give their opinions about the Kunming Area, discover new paths for future development and explore more opportunities for sino-foreign economic and trade cooperation.

"The establishment of Kunming Area provides many opportunities for further development of Kunming. I hope that enterprises here can march forward with big strides, and also expand into global markets with rich experience to our country and other regions so that we can cooperate in many fields.” Mr. Kosala Wickramanayake, the president of International Business Council of Sri Lanka, said in the talk show of Global Opinions of Kunming Area of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Looking forward to seeing Sri Lankan entrepreneurs visiting Kunming Area

In 1999, Mr. Wickramanayake visited Kunming for the first time to attend the World Horticultural Exposition and realized that Kunming was a hot spot for international investment. “That exposition showcased great potential for the development in Kunming and also displayed the cooperation opportunities for other countries.”

Mr. Wickramanayake has been to Yunnan many times to participate in exhibitions such as the China South Asia Exposition so as to seek business opportunities. “Many Sri Lankan companies are not aware of the huge business opportunities in Kunming Area.” He hopes that Sri Lankan entrepreneurs can have the opportunity to visit China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone in groups, especially Kunming Area, and explore more cooperation possibilities.

"Yunnan's Pu'er tea is famous, and Sri Lanka's black tea is also very popular in the market. We can develop a lot of cooperation in the tea industry.” In his opinion, there are enormous possibilities for cooperation between Chinese companies and Sri Lankan enterprises. He hopes that enterprises of both countries can deepen practical cooperation in various fields with the help of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Expecting more high-quality enterprises to invest Kunming Area and enterprises to go out 

Mr. Wickramanayake believes that Kunming Area has great commercial potential. At present, Kunming area has introduced many major projects, such as Huawei Smart Park, Hikvision, Henan Bonded Cross-Border E-Commerce, etc.. As of August 18, 2020, 12,560 enterprises have come in with more than 90,000 market entities, including 58 world top 500 enterprises and branches.

"With the implementation of foreign investment promotion measures, I believe that more and more high-quality enterprises will settle in Kunming Area," said Mr. Wickramanayake. He also invited enterprises in Kunming Area to extend business abroad.

Sri Lanka is China’s traditional friendly neighbor and important partner in the Belt and Road Initiative. It is a key market for Chinese enterprises to invest in South Asia. He also hopes that Sri Lankan commodities can be exported to Kunming and other parts of China through the China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

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(Editors: Rachel, Christine)