Rubber industry wants to grab the "Belt and Road" first opportunity

   The second "Four Seas Gathering Rubber" - Silk Road Cooperation Dialogue was held on October 14 in Qingdao. Dialogue guests believe that the rubber industry in the "Belt and Road" along the countries and regions with complementary, can take the lead, and jointly carry out personnel training, technology development, logistics and trade and other win-win cooperation, sharing market opportunities.             
     Fan Rende, Honorary President of China Rubber Industry Association, said that according to the Association's special survey, the rubber industry along the "Belt and Road", whether on land or at sea, has a very large complementarity. For example, Southeast Asia is the main producing area of natural rubber, but the scale of the rubber processing industry is still relatively small; Central Asia has a certain market, but the development of the rubber industry is lagging behind. Comparatively speaking, China's tires, rubber hoses and belts, rubber products, automotive parts and other output are the world's first, and from raw materials to production equipment, testing equipment have a very high level . Taking China as a bridge and link, the rubber raw material supply, processing production and market consumption along the "Belt and Road" will be threaded and connected, which will significantly benefit the regional economic and industrial development.            
     Natural Rubber Producing Countries Organization Secretary General Sheila Thomas believes that most of the member countries of the Natural Rubber Producing Countries Organization are "One Belt, One Road" countries along the route, "One Belt, One Road" strategy for all parties is a huge or even an unprecedented opportunity. The "Belt and Road" strategy is a huge and even unprecedented opportunity for all parties, which will not only open up a large unified market, but also promote more technology development, cooperation, transfer and development. Many natural rubber producing countries in the region, the purchase price of rubber is only 60% of the selling price, a large part of the profit is taken by the middlemen. If the production and demand sides directly connected to the purchase price accounted for 80% of the proportion of the selling price, then the rubber producers or rubber farmers will greatly improve the business situation, rubber-consuming countries is also beneficial.                                      
     Thailand's former Deputy Prime Minister Phini Zalu Songba that Southeast Asia and China are geographically adjacent to each other, complementary in industrial structure, and already has a good foundation for investment, economic and trade cooperation, and further deepen the potential for industrial integration and cooperation. He welcomed Chinese enterprises to invest in Thailand's rubber industry.                   
     Ru Wanti, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in China, introduced that the rubber industry is one of the earliest fields of cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, and the "One Belt, One Road" strategy has already shown the role of promoting the industry, and hope that it can bring more investment and project docking, especially in the field of technological research and development and innovation.
     Patrick Ness, Honorary Ambassador of the Royal Embassy of Belgium in China, introduced that Belgium's per capita automobile production and exports ranked first in the world. Automobile and rubber industry has a close connection, "Belt and Road" initiative can greatly benefit the rubber industry in the region.             
     It is understood that recently China's rubber industry and the "Belt and Road" countries, especially in Southeast Asia, exchanges and cooperation continue to heat up. Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Rubber Valley Group and Prince of Songkla University in Thailand recently signed a contract to build a Sino-Thai Rubber College, to jointly cultivate rubber professional manpower, technological innovation. Zhengxin Xiamen Group has set up factories in Thailand and Vietnam, and will set up factories in Indonesia and India this year.