Sino-Italy (Yangzhou) Food Industrial Park.

Hello, everyone. I have previously written many pieces about Yangzhou, a city in China. Whenever someone mentions Yangzhou, the immediate association is Yangzhou cuisines. Yangzhou morning tea is one of them. It has an eclectic selection of small dishes, such as crab dumpling (steamed dumplings filled with minced crab and gravy), vegetable siu mai and Yangzhou specialties, like meatball covered with crab powder, Yangzhou fried rice, which are not only popular in China, but also overseas.

Clearly, the fact that Yangzhou bao (steamed stuffed bun) can be sold all over the world, can be attributed primarily to the standardized Yangzhou food production process and local government support. At the same time, Yangzhou is open and welcomes international food enterprises to set-up in Yangzhou.

It is understood that Yangzhou Food Industrial Park has established the only food bonded warehouse in  Jiangsu Province whereby duties are only paid after sale of goods. In addition, Yangzhou is planning to build a cold chain logistics distribution center to provide food enterprises with warehousing and distribution, cross-border e-commerce and other services, and eventually establish China's East China Food Trade Port, with an annual turnover of more than 10 billion yuan.

Map of Italian food distribution.

Under such circumstances, Only Italia, an Italian SME consortium, reached a strategic cooperation agreement with 86Links in order to help more Italian quality enterprises locate in Sino-Italy (Yangzhou) Food Industry Park.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Rome, Only Italia provides access to a network of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises and brands. Only Italia aims to promote the development and growth of Italian enterprises in the international market.

The Sino-Italy (Yangzhou) Food Industry Park opened in September 2015 and its overall planning area is 1 square kilometer. The industrial park will bring in Italian food, food processing equipment, as well as Italian packaging design, ideas of cultural creativity, training institutions for Western food teaching.

With the help of Yangzhou government, Only Italia and 86Links, Italian chocolates, noodles, olive oil and other food products have entered into Yangzhou. On the one hand, Chinse residents can taste fresh and delicious Italian food and this will encourage further development of China's food industry. On the other hand, Italian food companies can have access to the Chinese market and gain more market share.

It is without doubt that the equipment manufacturing and processing industry, such as Italian kitchen utensils, coffee machines, and cooking utensils introduced to China can also help the development of Chinese food industrialization. Ultimately, this may create more market opportunities to Italian food enterprises and at the same time, strengthen Yangzhou’s food production capability to reach different parts of the world.

Irene Pivetti, President of Only Italia and Former President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies (second from left), and Megan Meng, 86Links Director of Business Development (first from left) and Lim Zhi Kang, 86Links Associate Director of Southeast Asian Markets (second from left)

In a meeting between Only Italia and 86Links, Ms. Irene Pivetti, President of Only Italia and Former President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, said that the industrial park project was a significant strategic partnership. The project aims to promote the joint development of the food industry between the two sides. Yangzhou played an important role in ancient China's Silk Road, so this industrial park project hopes to bring more interaction for future economic development through cooperation between the two sides, focusing more on food safety, environmental protection and project implementation.

Ms. Megan Meng, Director of Business Development at 86Links said that 86Links will provide professional services related to cross-border partnerships such as legal, financial, financial, tax and human resources for global companies. “We hope that through the cooperation with Only Italia, we can help Italian companies enter China more smoothly and effectively, and also ease the process of Chinese enterprises venturing overseas”, she said.

大家好~我之前在86insights上，多次写到中国的扬州。关于扬州，咱们的话题就离不开扬州的美食。扬州早茶中的蟹黄汤包、翡翠烧麦，还有扬州的特色美食：蟹粉狮子头、扬州炒饭，不仅在中国深受欢迎，在国外的很多国家都卖得很好。

当然，扬州包子能卖往世界各地，离不开扬州食品工业的标准化生产；离不开扬州当地政府对食品产业的重视。与此同时，扬州也以开放的姿态，迎接国外进入中国的食品产业。

据了解，扬州市食品产业园建立了江苏省唯一食品公共性保税仓库，可先销售后缴税。另外，扬州市正计划建设冷链物流集散地，为食品企业提供仓储配送、跨境电商等服务，最终建立年成交额超百亿的中国华东食品贸易港。

在这样的情况下，意大利中小企业联合组织Only Italia与86Links达成了战略合作协议，，以帮助更多意大利的优质企业落户位于扬州的中意（扬州）食品产业园。

Only Italia成立于2011年，总部设在罗马，是由意大利中小企业结成的企业联盟，拥有广阔的意大利品牌资源。Only Italia旨在推动意大利企业在国际市场的发展与壮大。

中意（扬州）食品产业园于2015年9月揭牌成立，总体规划面积1平方公里。产业园将引进意大利食品、食品加工设备，以及意大利包装设计、文化创意、西餐教学培训机构等。

在扬州方面、Only Italia与86Links的共同推动下，意大利的巧克力、面条、橄榄油等食品进入中国扬州，既能让更多中国人尝到新鲜的美味，推动中国食品产业的发展；又能帮助意大利的食品企业打开中国市场，获取更多市场份额。

当然，把意大利厨房器具、咖啡机、炊具等设备的制造加工引入中国，也能帮助中国食品工业化的发展。最终，让意大利美食走进扬州，销往中国；让扬州美食走出中国，销往世界。

在Only Italia与86Links的撮合会谈中，Only Italia主席、意大利前议长Irene Pivetti女士表示：产业园项目是一次意义重大的战略合作，一次推动双方食品产业共同发展的工程。扬州在中国古代丝绸之路曾发挥重要作用，希望通过双方合作，为未来经济发展带来更多互动，并将更加重视食品安全，推动环境保护和项目实施。

86Links战略合作发展总裁孟雅琦表示： 86Links面向全球企业，将提供法律、金融、财务、税务、人力资源等跨境合作相关的专业服务。希望通过与Only Italia的合作，能入更多优质的意大利品牌企业提供专业、精准、有效的服务，同时帮助中国企业更好地走向国际市场。