HAIKOU  -  At the China-Italy Chamber of Com­merce pavilion, Marco Russo, CEO of Italian jewelry brand Russo Cammei, was immersed in receiving custom­ers and negotiating deals. Hailing from Naples, Italy, Marco represents the fourth generation of a family legacy spanning over a century dedi­cated to crafting artisanal handmade jewelry. He tries to blend the tradi­tion of cameo artistry with the inno­vative flair of contemporary designs.

This marks Marco’s third voyage to the China International Consumer Products Expo in south China’s is­land province of Hainan. Armed with over 300 pieces of jewelry including some new collections first shown to Chinese consumers, Marco is fueled by a grand ambition — to further penetrate the vast Chinese market. “Hainan expo is growing up year by year, and getting more and more cus­tomers,” he said. “It means that there is a great opportunity for us.” Mar­co’s optimism is buoyed by China’s immense consumer base and their penchant for Italian craftsmanship. With an established business part­ner in Shanghai, he eagerly antici­pates fostering deeper collaboration and forging new partnerships.

“Hainan could be a very important platform for the future because it will become an important free trade port,” he said, noting that the Chinese gov­ernment attaches great importance to Hainan and he hopes to expand the market in this province. Enrico Peruffo, CEO of the Italian jewelry company Fratelli Bovo, participating in the Hainan expo for the first time, expressed his positive impression of the event. “The organisation and the layout are good, and the quality of goods is good,” he said, emphasising its significance as a platform for gath­ering market feedback and gauging the potential of products.

“We have established the Western market like Europe and the United States, and now we are approach­ing the Chinese market,” he said. The adjacent Italian Pavilion, organised by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), hosted a jewelry exhibition featuring 17 selected Italian brands, drawing considerable attention from visi­tors. Massimiliano Tremiterra, trade commissioner of ITA office in south­ern China’s Guangzhou City, said the Hainan expo is a gateway for foreign companies to access the Chinese market. “Italian products are very strong in some sectors like fashion, jewelry, and food. Hainan is really a place where all these products are requested, so I think Italian compa­nies can find a very nice opportunity here,” he said.

The fourth China International Consumer Products Expo, which started Saturday and lasts till April 18, is China’s only national-level ex­hibition featuring consumer prod­ucts and also the largest consumer expo in the Asia-Pacific region. This year it has the biggest scale ever, at­tracting a record number of brands with an indoor exhibition area of 128,000 square meters.