Xia Yang joins 2026 Guangzhou trade promotion conference, pledges deeper China-NZ cooperation

Summary

Guangzhou's trade promotion body has set out its 2026 priorities, with the head of its New Zealand liaison office telling delegates the office will deepen commercial ties between the city and New Zealand. The 2026 Guangzhou trade promotion work conference was held in Tianhe district on 19 March, hosted by the Guangzhou Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT Guangzhou) and chaired by deputy director Huang Xiaofeng. It reviewed the council's 2025 results and set key tasks for 2026.

Xia Yang, who heads CCPIT Guangzhou's New Zealand liaison office and chairs both New Zealand AFC Group and Yunshijie Network Technology Co Ltd, attended at invitation and gave a special address. Xia said the New Zealand liaison office, an overseas economic and trade representative body authorised by CCPIT Guangzhou, works with the New Zealand Guangdong Chamber of Commerce to build trade and investment bridges between Guangzhou and New Zealand. Outlining how the office will respond to the city's 2026 trade promotion plan, he named four priorities for the liaison office, New Zealand AFC Group and Yunshijie:

Acting as a bridge between government and business to advance cooperation across trade, investment, tourism and technology; strengthening trade promotion platforms by running flagship expos and upgrading overseas warehouses and exhibition and sales centres; lifting localised service capability to help Guangzhou firms go global and bring quality New Zealand resources into the market; and using overseas Chinese networks to unite Cantonese businesses worldwide.

Under the guidance of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, the partners will accelerate development and rollout of a vertical AI large model for international food and agricultural trade, push for the China Food Import and Export Exhibition and Trading Centre and its big data centre to be based in Guangzhou, and support the "Global Cantonese Merchants' Guangzhou Home" project in Tianhe. CCPIT Guangzhou director Chen Simin closed the meeting with the council's work report, reviewing 2025 outcomes, analysing opportunities and challenges, and setting out 2026 priorities. The Yunshijie platform has completed its version 4.0 upgrade, covering an industrial big data network across 60 countries, with professional databases spanning 18 major food categories and level 2 to level 3 classifications, close to 35,000 member enterprises and a private-domain consumer traffic pool of nearly 1 million.

The jointly developed "Yunshihui" AI model draws on industry databases from more than 120 countries and classification standards for 18 major food categories, covering 12 core stages. Yunshijie said it will continue working with New Zealand AFC Group and CCPIT Guangzhou's New Zealand liaison office to deepen China-New Zealand economic and trade cooperation and contribute to Guangzhou's efforts to build a higher-level open economy.

Commentary

The signal from Guangzhou's trade promotion conference that matters most to New Zealand's small and medium-sized food exporters is the arrival of digital trade infrastructure. China is New Zealand's largest trading partner, with two-way goods trade of about NZ$38 billion in 2024, led by dairy, meat and fruit. Fonterra, Zespri and other large players already have mature channels, but a long tail of smaller specialty food brands remains constrained by complex market access procedures and costly distribution networks in China.

Yunshijie says it has 35,000 member enterprises and close to 1 million private-domain consumers, and its version 4.0 covers industry data from 60 countries. In effect, that is an online trading floor where Chinese importers can source food from New Zealand and elsewhere in one place. Seen as an opportunity, New Zealand SMEs could use the platform's links to Guangzhou's overseas warehouses and exhibition and sales centres to bypass traditional multi-tier distribution and deal directly with wholesalers in tier-2 and tier-3 cities or community group-buying channels.

The jointly developed Yunshihui AI model covers 12 stages, including compliance review and smart customs clearance, which in theory lowers the risk of shipments being turned back because an exporter does not understand Chinese food safety standards. That is particularly practical for categories such as manuka honey, premium wine and plant-based foods. Seen from another angle, relying on a single third-party platform carries risks for data ownership and bargaining power.

The platform holds the transaction data and the buyer traffic. If New Zealand exporters migrate their customer relationships onto it in large numbers, they may later face commission changes or competition for priority display placement. Guangzhou is also not the traditional first port of entry for New Zealand food imports.

Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenzhen have more mature cold chain and customs clearance operations, and the logistics cost difference is something each company needs to work out for itself. What New Zealand SMEs should be watching is whether Yunshijie opens its origin data interfaces so that export certification information from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) can be mutually recognised with the platform's database. They should also ask whether, across the 18 major food categories, New Zealand can secure "one country, one pavilion" priority placement in sub-categories such as dairy, meat, fruit and honey.

Given the platform has begun the process of establishing the China Food Import and Export Exhibition and Trading Centre and its big data centre in Guangzhou, New Zealand exporters that engage with its origin standard alignment in 2026 are more likely to lock in precise buyers early than those that join passively later.

Keywords: CCPIT Guangzhou, New Zealand liaison office, Xia Yang, China-New Zealand economic and trade cooperation, Yunshijie, vertical AI large model for international food and agricultural trade, China Food Import and Export Exhibition and Trading Centre, Guangzhou high-level opening-up, Yunshihui, overseas warehouses

Summary in Chinese | 摘要

3月19日，2026年广州市贸促工作会议在天河区召开，会议由广州市贸促会主办、市贸促会副主任黄晓峰主持，总结2025年贸促工作成效并部署2026年重点任务。广州市贸促会新西兰联络处负责人、新西兰AFC集团董事局主席、云食界网络科技有限公司董事长夏阳应邀出席并作专题交流发言。夏阳介绍，新西兰联络处作为广州市贸促会授权设立的海外经贸代表机构，携手新西兰粤商会搭建广州与新西兰经贸合作桥梁。

围绕2026年全市贸促工作部署，他明确新西兰联络处联合新西兰AFC集团、云食界的四大方向：发挥政企桥梁作用，推动贸易、投资、文旅、科技等多领域合作；强化经贸促进平台，办好品牌展会，升级海外仓、展销中心；提升在地化服务能力，助力广州企业“走出去”和新西兰优质资源“引进来”；以侨为桥凝聚全球粤商合力，在商务部国际贸易经济合作研究院指导下，加快食品农产品国际贸易垂直AI大模型研发推广，推动中国食品进出口展览交易中心、大数据中心落户广州，助力“全球粤商广州之家”项目落地天河。会议最后，广州市贸促会主任陈思民作全市贸促工作报告，回顾2025年成果、分析机遇挑战并部署2026年重点工作。云食界平台已完成4.0版本升级，覆盖60个国家的产业大数据网络，包含18大类食品2～3级分类专业数据库，拥有近3.5万家入驻会员企业和近100万C端私域流量库；其联合研发的“云食慧”AI大模型基于120多个国家产业数据库和18大类食品分类标准，覆盖12个核心环节。

未来，云食界将携手新西兰AFC集团、广州市贸促会新西兰联络处持续深耕中新经贸合作，为广州建设更高水平开放型经济新体制作出贡献。

Commentary in Chinese | 评论

广州贸促工作会议释放的信号，对新西兰中小食品出口商而言，核心价值在于数字贸易基础设施的落地。中国是新西兰最大贸易伙伴，2024年双边货物贸易额约380亿新元，其中乳制品、肉类、水果占大头。恒天然、佳沛等大企业已有成熟渠道，但大量中小型特色食品品牌仍受制于中国市场准入流程复杂、分销网络成本高昂。

云食界平台宣称拥有3.5万家入驻会员企业和近100万C端私域流量，其4.0版本覆盖60国产业数据，相当于为中国进口商提供了一个集中采购新西兰及其他国家食品的线上交易场。从机会视角看，新西兰中小企业可借助该平台与广州海外仓、展销中心的联动，跳过传统多层经销，直接对接中国二三线城市批发商或社区团购渠道；平台联合研发的“云食慧”AI大模型覆盖合规审查、智能报关等12个环节，理论上能降低中小出口商因不了解中国食品安全标准而导致的退运风险，这对麦卢卡蜂蜜、精品葡萄酒、植物基食品等品类尤为实际。但另一视角下，依赖单一第三方平台会带来数据主导权和议价能力削弱的隐患。

平台掌握交易数据和买家流量，新西兰出口商若大量将客户关系迁移至该平台，未来可能面临佣金调整或优先展示权竞争。此外，广州并非新西兰食品进口的传统第一口岸，上海、天津、深圳的冷链和通关效率更成熟，物流成本差异需要企业自行测算。新西兰中小企业应关注的是：云食界是否开放原产地数据接口，允许新西兰初级产业部（MPI）的出口认证信息与平台数据库互认；以及在18大类食品分类中，新西兰在乳制品、肉类、水果、蜂蜜等细分品类能否获得“一国一馆”的优先展示位。

鉴于该平台已启动中国食品进出口展览交易中心和大数据中心落户广州的进程，若新西兰出口商能在2026年主动参与其原产地标准对接，比事后被动加入更有可能在早期锁定精准买家。

关键词: 广州市贸促会, 新西兰联络处, 夏阳, 中新经贸合作, 云食界, 食品农产品国际贸易垂直AI大模型, 中国食品进出口展览交易中心, 广州高水平开放, 云食慧, 海外仓

Source: Cloud Food World Efoodline