From a relatively unknown carpet merchant to an Afghan "internet celebrity" in the Chinese media, this is a shift in Ali Faiz in the past year.
Last year, Ali's "transshipment" came a little late, at the China International Import Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "Expo") in early November. An Afghan face appeared in the venues of the Expo, attracting the attention of major Chinese media, including FIRST Finance.
Finally, on the closing night of the Expo on November 10, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin promoted Ali's story separately on his social media Facebook, and specifically quoted him as saying: "I bring not only carpets, but also the hope of my hometown people." ”
However, being an "internet celebrity" is not Ali's purpose, he thinks more about how to drive more Chinese people to know, recognize and appreciate Afghan goods.
Pitch Afghanistan with carpets
On the eve of the Chinese New Year, although there was not much traffic in the Shanghai Greenland Global Commodity Trade Port, Ali still carefully arranged the carpet in the "Afghan Collection Hall".
The collection hall is run by Ali, 28, who moved his family from Beijing to Shanghai in August last year to take care of the small stall. Originally from Kabul, Afghanistan, Ali studied in China in 2014 and graduated from the University of Science and Technology Beijing in 2019, where he lived for the first seven years of his time in China.
It also happened that in August, the political situation in Afghanistan suddenly changed, disrupting Ali's deployment. He told the first financial reporter: "Originally I wanted to build a 126-square-meter Afghan national pavilion, but due to the sudden changes in the Afghan political situation, we can only make a temporary display area of the Afghan collection hall first." ”
In August, Kabul International Airport was in chaos, civil aviation cargo flights were suspended, and the sudden change in the political situation also affected the logistics purchase from Afghanistan, but Ali still eliminated difficulties and opened the door for trial operation on August 20. Because there is a position, focusing on promoting Afghan goods and playing the Afghan brand, it has always been Ali's dream.
For example, Ali has been operating Afghan handmade carpets, which most Chinese consumers did not know before. Ali still remembers the "pain" of selling his first carpet. He told the first financial reporter that in 2018, the first year he began to sell carpets, a customer in Nanchang felt that the price was inflated after listening to his offer, and directly came to a halving bargain.
This really startled him, and after trying to calm himself down, he carefully and patiently explained the cost of labor, materials, transportation, etc. to the customer, and the other party began to "recognize the goods" and was deeply touched, and bought it immediately according to the original price he opened.
Afghan handmade carpets have been quite famous in Europe and the United States before, the cold in the mountains of Afghanistan makes the wool fibers soft and slender, and the high-quality Afghan carpets are more made of lamb wool from 8 to 14 months old, which is delicate and smooth after being made by hand, and has a silky luster.
Last year, under the joint promotion of the Foreign Ministry spokesperson and the Chinese media, Ali happily told the first financial reporter: "Afghan products are selling better and better in China, especially from November last year to the present, more and more Chinese recognize and appreciate Afghan carpets." ”
Make a brand name for Afghanistan
The Afghan goods that caught fire in China last year are not only Afghan carpets, but also Afghan pine nuts.
Since November 1, thousands of tons of Afghan pine nuts have flown directly from Afghanistan to China on the "Pine Nuts Air Corridor". According to China Customs, from November 2021 to mid-January 2022, Shanghai Pudong International Airport Customs has cumulatively supervised the import of nearly 1,600 tons of Afghan pine nuts.
In fact, Ali was initially urged to start the Afghan pine nut business. He, who has been running the carpet business, said that since the fire of Afghan pine nuts, "friends have always come to ask me if I have Afghan pine nuts."
However, Ali's pine nut business is not without a foundation, and he himself was born into a family of dried fruit merchants in Kabul. He said that since the imports from Afghanistan are mainly pine nut raw materials, processing and frying and packaging are carried out in China, he will make a layout in advance this year.
In the mountains of northeastern Afghanistan, at an altitude of about 1,000 meters, large tracts of lush pine forests grow. Abundant sunlight and abundant snow water irrigation produce afghan pine nuts with full grains and thin skin. The export of pine nuts to China has helped many Afghans find employment and improve their lives.
In fact, agricultural trade between China and Afghanistan has a long history. As early as July 1957, the first trade agreement signed between the two countries, the Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Afghanistan on the Exchange of Goods and Payments, stipulated that Afghanistan would export sesame seeds, flaxseeds, dried fruits and other commodities to China. These goods were very popular in China at that time.
Ali told the first financial reporter that in fact, Afghanistan's "fist products" are not only carpets and pine nuts, each industry segment is very talkative, such as dried fruits, not only pine nuts, but also pistachios, badan wood, figs, etc.; fresh fruits have pomegranates; herbs have saffron; handicrafts in addition to carpets and wood carvings and leather products; jewelry has lapis lazuli, emerald and tourmaline.
He said: "These products are not casually talked about, the quality is outstanding in the world, even one of the best." However, he regretfully told the first financial reporter that although Afghan specialties are rich, "the problem is that Afghans themselves do very little, many are foreigners doing", such as pine nuts are treated as Pakistan produced, Afghan marble exported to Italy after processing, by everyone as Italian marble, Afghan marble is no one cares.
So in the new year, Ali's desire is to build a reputation for Afghan goods in the Chinese market. He said: "The Chinese market is big and good, bringing more high-quality Afghan products to China, enriching the Chinese market, helping the Afghan locals, and it is also a good opportunity for me." ”