SHANGHAI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- At the recent 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE), visitor Li Jing told Xinhua she was immediately drawn to a unique blueberry variety in the Food and Agricultural Products area.

"They rival bottle caps in size and have a much sweeter, crisper taste compared to regular blueberries," she said.

Planted in the desert region of Peru, the blueberries imported by the company Joy Wing Mau Chile Spa made its global debut at this year's expo, which closed on Monday. In late October, it was shipped from Peru's Chancay Port via a cold-chain express route, completing the 17,000-km journey to Shanghai Port in just 23 days -- over 10 days faster than previously possible.

Since Chancay Port opened last year, the direct shipping route -- a flagship Belt and Road project between China and Peru -- has created an express maritime channel for specialty Peruvian agricultural products like blueberries and avocados to access the Chinese market.

Leveraging the abundant fruit resources in Belt and Road partner countries, Joy Wing Mau has collaborated with numerous local orchards in over 20 countries, including Peru, Chile, Thailand and Malaysia, to bring premium fruits to Chinese buyers.

"The durian before us fell naturally from a tree in Malaysia between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. yesterday at peak ripeness," Guo Min, the company's deputy marketing director for China, told visitors at the CIIE.

After harvesting, the durians are sorted, packaged and boxed within a four-hour window before their flight to China, arriving the very next morning.

Last year, Joy Wing Mau promoted the first batch of fresh Malaysian Musang King durians approved for import to China through the CIIE platform. The fruit became an instant market hit, with its share growing 10-fold over the following six months.

To date, the company has established over 30 modern cold chain logistics centers across China, with its business spanning more than 300 cities. It distributes over 3,000 tonnes of globally sourced, high-quality fruit daily to 20 million Chinese households.

Other Southeast Asian fruits like dragon fruit, jackfruit and mangosteen are also entering the Chinese market at greater affordability and speed. This is powered by the robust trade cooperation framework between China and ASEAN, which has facilitated market access for more fruit varieties, streamlined customs clearance procedures and reduced logistics costs.

Customs data shows that in the first three quarters of this year, China's agricultural imports from ASEAN grew 15.3 percent year on year, accounting for 19.1 percent of the country's total agricultural import value.

On the opening day of the 8th CIIE, a Russian food producer signed a memorandum of cooperation with a Chinese international trading company. The two parties plan to diversify their product portfolio and produce more items tailored to Chinese dietary preferences.

"A 25-tonne shipment of our products destined for China was completely sold out to distributors even before dispatch," said Vladimir Dorogin, sales director of the Russian company.

He said that with the continuous expansion of its exports to China, the company has not only increased its production capacity but also decided to establish a sales headquarters in north China's Tianjin. This strategic move has made its export procedures more efficient and its products more competitive with lower price.

Not far from the CIIE venue, container ships carrying Brazilian beef have completed an 18,000-km journey to discharge their cargo at Shanghai's Yangshan Port, from where it will be distributed to consumer markets across China.

Latina Brazilian Steakhouse, which operates more than a dozen branches in Shanghai, has witnessed a dramatic shift in its clientele. "About half of our customers used to be Chinese, but now that proportion has surged to nearly 90 percent," said Andre Machado, a Brazilian managing partner of the chain's parent company. "Brazilian beef has been gaining remarkable popularity among Chinese consumers in recent years."

Machado attributed the rising consumption of Brazilian beef to key factors including improved living standards and sustained growth in long-term purchasing power among Chinese residents. "Over the years, we have been significantly expanding our chain of restaurants in China, and we plan to open new branches in more cities in the future," he said.

Shen Wei from the China Cuisine Association said that the sustained growth in Chinese consumer demand for imported beef demonstrates substantial market potential.

"Current trends indicate that China's total beef imports from Latin America will continue to rise," he noted.