国际英语新闻:Rwanda sees China as "very important" market: official

KIGALI, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda takes the Chinese market "very seriously," because it is a "very important" market for Rwanda, a senior Rwandan official told Xinhua on Friday.

Rwanda has been looking at increasing export to China with many related initiatives, and the ongoing second China International Import Expo (CIIE) gives Rwanda a bigger opportunity to sell Rwandan products, said Clare Akamanzi, CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), in an interview in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda.

"We are looking at increasing our coffee, tea and other made-in-Rwanda products to be sold in China. We think it is very important, because China is the biggest market in the world," she said.

The CEO also said Chinese customers are beginning to learn about Rwanda as a result of different initiatives put in place, including the one with China's e-commerce giant Alibaba.

It is the 2nd time that Rwanda participates in the expo. Seven Rwandan companies in different sectors, including agriculture and handcrafts, are attending the expo, according to RDB.

This year's expo kicked off Tuesday in eastern China's Shanghai city and runs through Sunday. A total of 155 countries and regions as well as 26 international organizations are attending the event. Enditem