Two tonnes of seafood originating from the coast of Pakistan arrived in the city of Karamay, in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang Uyghur, from routes that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative, according to a report by Global Times.
Global Times said the seafood — which travelled more than 34 hours from the port of Gwadar — was presented at a tasting event in Karamay, where locals tested samples and even made on-the-spot purchases.
"It's fresh and has a delicate taste," one participant at the event stated.
The shipment of 16 types of deep-sea edibles included lobsters and black sea bass, all originating from the Indian Ocean.
The seafood will also be showcased on Saturday at an event for three days by Karamay-based Xinjiang Yufei International Fishing Co, who were responsible for packaging and refrigerating the goods.
"After this event, we will also have a flagship store, and later we will import more kinds of Gwadar seafood to Karamay," said Ma Jinglu, a manager in Yufei's administration division.
"The seafood will be sold both online and offline, allowing people to order the seafood to their homes with a press of a finger on their mobile phones."
Yufei General Manager Luo Jun insisted that the company was already preparing to import more shipments of seafood to Karamay.
Yufei was the first Chinese enterprise to own a business license in Pakistan and established a branch in Gwadar port in May.
The company invested approximately $74 million in establishing seafood freezing workshops, seafood deep processing workshops, an ice making factory, a sea water desalination factory, a packaging factory and a maritime scientific research center in Gwadar.
According to Global Times Ma said Chinese companies had received a warm welcome in Pakistan. He also believed that a railway project between China and Pakistan will largely cut the cost of shipping seafood.
"We will send Gwadar's seafood to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Karamay and Urumqi. We also plan to sell it to Dubai and Iran in the future," Ma said.
Luo noted that the Belt and Road Initiative has provided a rare opportunity for his company. "The local government of Karamay has established a good platform (for such trade), and residents in Pakistan also strongly support the platform as it has increased local revenues," Luo said.
Reuters reported that Pakistan expects up to 4 per cent of global trade to pass through it by 2020, with transit and rent revenues amounting to $6 billion to $8 billion a year.
