An interactive stand of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) was set up at the 6th China International Import Expo held on 5-10 November in Shanghai in a bid to demonstrate BUCE’s cross-border trading services and their practical value for exporters and importers from Belarus and China. The visitors of the stand were able not only to familiarize themselves with core activities of Belarus’ only spot exchange but also to study the user interface and key features of its trading system as well as practice making buy and sell orders.

The main highlight of BUCE’s stand was the electronic platform for industrial and consumer goods, which, along with standard purchase and sale operations, also allows placing orders to manufacture import-substituting products. So far, mostly Belarusian and Russian companies have been using this service, while Chinese businesses focused only on the timber and agricultural sector of the exchange market. 

“Our import substitution catalog currently contains over 3000 purchase bids in addition to 600 orders for custom made products. These are real opportunities for Chinese manufacturers seeking to enter the Belarusian market. The platform of industrial and consumer goods is available 24/7, which is convenient for traders from different time zones. Besides, in order to interact with the trading system Chinese users do not need an interpreter, as our software has built-in support for foreign languages, including Chinese. In other words, there are no barriers to leveraging the exchange mechanism, and one can apply for accreditation either online or contact our representative office in Shanghai,” BUCE press service said.

The exchange trade between Belarus and China started in 2019. Since then, more than 150 Chinese companies have been accredited on the BUCE, and the volume of exchange trade has been growing steadily. In January-October 2023, the amount of transactions made by Chinese residents increased 2.3-fold and amounted to 58.8 mln USD. 

By opening a representative office in Shanghai BUCE has made yet another towards its Chinese partners. The main functions of the representative office include: increasing the number of Chinese participants of exchange trades, promotion of Belarusian goods in China, and arranging imports of import-substituting products sought after in Belarus.