Officials from Yangpu District and the trade promotion department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos signed a cooperative agreement at the 5th China International Import Expo.

Shanghai residents will be able to taste the exotic agricultural products from Laos soon with a new agreement inked at the ongoing 5th China International Import Expo.

The Yangpu District government signed a memorandum of understanding with the trade promotion department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos during the CIIE to boost trade and commerce between China and the southeast Asian country.

Under the agreement, Yangpu will support more quality agricultural products from Laos to enter the local market to cater to the needs of local residents.

The Laotian Imported Food Distribution Center will be established in Yangpu to serve Shanghai and other cities in the Yangtze River Delta region.

The main agricultural products from Laos include rice, banana, potato and maize. Some products, including the sweet maize, dried cassava and passion fruit are popular with Chinese consumers.

The leading Internet firms in Yangpu will provide better digital resources and e-commerce platforms for the sales of the Laotian products in China, the district government said.

People visit the agricultural section on the 5th CIIE in Shanghai.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and the China-Laos Railway will facilitate cooperation between Yangpu and the Laotian ministry, according to the Yangpu government.

All the member countries of the RCEP have enterprises attending the CIIE this year, while the number of participating countries along the Belt and Road and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries has also increased, compared to the 4th CIIE.

Laos has participated in the annual fair for five consecutive years.

The China-Laos Railway, which connects Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, and Vientiane, the capital of Laos, was opened on December 3, 2021.

As of October 31, 2022, the Lao section of the railway has shipped a total of over 1.7 million tons of goods, with an average monthly growth rate of 17.09 percent.

Meanwhile, the trade group of Yangpu has signed purchase deals totaling US$500 million at this year's CIIE, an 8.6 percent increase on year.

Key imported products include a new brandy wine from Bodegas Torre Oria and a Loctite 402 ultra-high performance instant dry adhesive.