On 10 August, Richard Maru, Papua New Guinea's Minister for International Trade and Investment, led a government delegation to Yuhu Cold Chain (Guangzhou) Trading Centre for a field visit and exchange on the export of local seafood products to China and cross-border distribution cooperation. Li Junyan, Senior Vice President of Yuhu Cold Chain, and Zhang Chunhua, Vice Chairman of Yuhu Cold Chain (Guangzhou) Trading Centre, were among those who received the delegation.

The delegation toured the Centre's core operational areas, including the trading hall, the front-shop, back-warehouse zone, the logistics zone, and the fully automated, multi-tier cold storage facility, gaining a detailed understanding of Yuhu Cold Chain's innovative practices and operational results in Class A cold storage development, full temperature-range coverage, end-to-end temperature-controlled traceability, and end-to-end industry-chain services.

As part of a National Backbone Cold Chain Logistics Base, the cold storage cluster at the Guangzhou Trading Centre spans temperatures from ambient down to -60°C. Ultra-low-temperature deep-freeze chambers, purpose-built for high-value deep-sea products such as tuna and New Zealand scampi, meet the exacting storage requirements of premium ingredients, preserving cellular integrity and freshness to the greatest extent possible. Supported by precise temperature-control technology and a digital and intelligent warehousing and logistics system, the fully automated, multi-tier warehouse offers internationally high-standard storage solutions for a wide range of quality seafood, safeguarding product quality and safety from source to table.

Maru spoke highly of Yuhu Cold Chain's digital and intelligent cold chain infrastructure and end-to-end service capabilities. He noted that Papua New Guinea is a major fishing nation in the South Pacific, rich in premium seafood such as tuna, prawns, lobster, and sea cucumber, with an annual tuna catch of approximately 150,000 to 200,000 metric tons — around 20% to 30% of total Pacific-region catch. Through the visit, he said, the delegation had gained a full appreciation of the value of Yuhu Cold Chain's “one-stop” service platform model and the advantages of its digital and intelligent operations. He plans to lead more PNG companies and traders to visit the Centre again, driving practical cooperation between the two sides across a broader range of areas.

Li Junyan thanked Minister Maru for his recognition of Yuhu Cold Chain. She said that as a high-quality cold chain food trading platform in China, Yuhu Cold Chain — backed by a nationwide network of capital-intensive trading centres and its “online trading, offline fulfilment” Online-Merge-Offline (OMO) business model — can provide one-stop cross-border supply chain services for PNG seafood entering the Chinese market, spanning sourcing at origin, cold chain logistics, customs clearance, and financial settlement. She said she looks forward to advancing further practical cooperation with the PNG Embassy in China, building an efficient matching channel, and welcomed PNG exporters and traders to visit Yuhu Cold Chain for exchange, to establish a presence, and to explore collaboration, jointly expanding the space for trade and economic cooperation.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Papua New Guinea. The two countries recently signed the Framework Agreement on Enhanced Economic Partnership, opening new institutional space for bilateral trade and economic cooperation. As the first Pacific island nation to sign a Belt and Road cooperation document with China, Papua New Guinea is also China's largest trading partner and largest investment destination among Pacific island nations. Yuhu Cold Chain will use this exchange as an opportunity to actively advance deeper cooperation with Papua New Guinea in the seafood trade sector.

Going forward, the two sides plan to build a model of cooperation around core categories such as tuna, while expanding collaboration on categories including white shrimp, lobster, and sea cucumber. By connecting major buyers in key consumer markets across China with source-side producers in Papua New Guinea, Yuhu Cold Chain will facilitate direct sourcing and distribution partnerships. Drawing on its supply chain finance services, internationally high-standard cold chain logistics infrastructure, nationwide online and offline distribution network, and digital traceability technology, Yuhu Cold Chain will provide end-to-end value enablement for PNG seafood entering the Chinese market — positioning itself as a strategic trade and economic partner for PNG seafood in China.

The visit was also attended by Dr Thaddeus Kambanei, Papua New Guinea's Ambassador to China; Kikila Yavase, Chief Executive Officer of Papua New Guinea's Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA); Joyce Bundu, Commercial Counsellor at the PNG Embassy in China; and Ruben Enoch, First Secretary at the PNG Embassy in China.