Hengzhou of S China's Guangxi faces new opportunities for its jasmine industry (4)

Photo shows a signing ceremony of cooperation agreements at the opening ceremony of the 4th World Jasmine Conference, which opened on Sept. 19 in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Fu Huazhou)

Hengzhou city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region faces new opportunities for its jasmine industry, thanks to the 4th World Jasmine Conference and 2022 China (Hengzhou) Jasmine Festival, which opened on Sept. 19 in Nanning, capital of Guangxi.

The city, which produces about 80 percent of the total jasmine flowers of China and 60 percent of the world's total, has developed nine industrial clusters related to the flower with a rich and sweet floral scent, including potted jasmine, wellness, sports, and tourism. It has been developing a "jasmine town of China," and has completed the building of national-level agricultural industrial parks, and attracted well-known enterprises from Beijing, Fujian and Guangdong, which established branches here and helped local enterprises with transformation and upgrading.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, Liu Zongxiao, deputy mayor of Nanning, said that Nanning would help boost Hengzhou's global influence as the "jasmine capital" of the world, enable more jasmine tea products to enter the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) markets, and make the jasmine industry a bridge for countries along the Belt and Road.

Xu Jin, deputy head of the department of agriculture and rural affairs of Guangxi, introduced that Guangxi would build both China's first platform for the whole industrial chain of jasmine called "digital jasmine" and a global purchase hub, and advance the digitalization of the whole industrial chain.

"The China Flower Association will support Hengzhou in developing the jasmine industry and accelerating the building of a fully-fledged modern floral industry," said Zhao Liangping, vice president of the association.

Wang Qing, president of the China Tea Marketing Association, hopes that participants of China's jasmine tea industry will strengthen technology exchanges, facilitate the integration of production and marketing, and advance the integrated development between the primary, secondary and tertiary industries.

"Drinking Chinese tea has become a trend in Nepal," said Chhabindra Parajuli, an economic minister of the Embassy of Nepal in China. "The Nepali side hopes to strengthen communication and cooperation with Guangxi in the jasmine industry to boost people-to-people and cultural bonds between Nepal and China."

The city inked many cooperation agreements with a total investment of more than 2.21 billion yuan (about $313.74 million), which involved new products of jasmine, new energy and new architectural materials, at the opening ceremony.