The 9th China-Eurasia Expo kicked off on June 25-29, 2026, in Urumqi, Xinjiang. As a flagship national platform for China’s westward opening-up and a key cooperation hub for the Silk Road Economic Belt, this year’s expo featured an unprecedented lineup of participants, bringing together multinational government-business delegations, provincial pavilions from across China, major state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and leading publicly-listed tech companies to showcase cutting-edge technologies and benchmark achievements in energy infrastructure, digital technology, advanced manufacturing, green building materials, and cross-border trade.

Provincial pavilions including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Guangxi were all present, focusing on core tracks such as digital economy, green low-carbon development, high-end equipment, modern agriculture, and eco-building materials, comprehensively presenting the fruitful results of high-quality development across China’s regions.

During the exhibition, this reporter was first drawn to the zones of central SOEs and tech giants. In the energy infrastructure sector, leading SOEs including PetroChina, Sinopec, State Grid, China Huadian, China National Nuclear Power, China Energy Engineering, China Railway Construction, China Railway Group, China Communications Construction, China State Construction, and China National Coal Group all made their presence, showcasing core technologies and practical achievements in green energy, smart infrastructure, and low-carbon transformation. In industrial trade and supply chains, COFCO, China Poly Group, China General Technology, and Sinotrans all participated deeply in cross-border trade matchmaking between Asia and Europe. Leading Xinjiang SOEs including Xinjiang Zhongtai Group, Xinjiang Energy Group, and Xinjiang Communications Investment also exhibited, facilitating regional industrial collaboration.

In the innovation track, digital tech giants Huawei, ZTE, China Electronics, Inspur, iFlytek, and Sugon brought cutting-edge solutions in AI, digital infrastructure, and intelligent empowerment. High-end manufacturing enterprises Sany Heavy Industry, XCMG, Zoomlion, and DJI showcased intelligent equipment manufacturing capabilities. New energy tech companies LONGi Green Energy, Goldwind Technology, and TBEA continued to output low-carbon, energy-saving, green-empowering industrial technologies, comprehensively interpreting the new industry trend of “technology empowering industry, green leading the future.”

Against the backdrop of the expo continuously expanding its international reach, the exhibition successfully attracted dozens of delegations from countries across Asia and Europe, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany, France, and Italy. Relying on the expo platform, participating countries showcased their competitive industries, released cross-border cooperation projects, and connected with China’s premium market, building a bridge for mutually beneficial Asia-Europe economic and trade cooperation. This provided domestic enterprises with an excellent opportunity to tap into inland markets and expand into overseas markets across Asia and Europe.

Amid the vibrant domestic exhibition zone, key provincial pavilions presented their regional industrial upgrades and smart manufacturing innovations. The Guangxi Pavilion, themed “Cooperation and Sharing Prosperity on the Silk Road,” leveraged Guangxi’s unique position as China’s largest forestry industry province—with total forestry output value, forest coverage rate, timber production, and wood-based panel production all ranking among the top nationwide—to present local Guangxi products, featuring green smart manufacturing and open cooperation as its hallmarks. The pavilion became one of the core highlights of the green living building materials and cross-border trade cooperation sector at this year’s expo.

Walking into the Guangxi Pavilion, among the diverse array of local products, one brand caught this reporter’s attention—HuQiang Marine Board. The booth was compact and elegantly designed, not in the most prime location, yet it received over 100 batches of procurement inquiries in three days, with approximately 30% coming from Central Asian countries. This factory from Guigang, Guangxi, operating under the HuQiang Group, was the only formaldehyde-free marine board brand in the Guangxi Pavilion. At first, the reporter assumed it was just another ordinary “eco-friendly board,” but a deeper dive revealed it might be an underrated “hidden gem” high-tech product.

Notably, in late 2024, China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development explicitly launched the “Good Housing” initiative, incorporating housing quality, environmental performance, and living health into mandatory standards. Indoor air quality requirements stipulate formaldehyde ≤0.08 mg/m³, benzene ≤0.03 mg/m³, and TVOC ≤0.5 mg/m³—stricter than current national standards. This means that while ENF-grade boards (formaldehyde ≤0.025 mg/m³) meet national standards, they could still exceed the “Good Housing” limits under cumulative release scenarios or insufficient ventilation. Only boards with zero formaldehyde, zero benzene, and zero toxic substances can truly satisfy the “Good Housing” requirements. This brand’s presence happened to align perfectly with this policy trend.

Among the mega lineup of multinational delegations, national pavilions, SOE giants, and tech leaders, the product promoted by the Guangxi Pavilion stood out for its extreme green technology attributes, ultra-high quality-price ratio, and full-dimensional product advantages. A procurement officer from Kazakhstan stood in front of the booth for a long time. He told the reporter that local markets mainly sell Russian imports and locally produced boards. Russian marine plywood ranges from RMB 350-500 per sheet, while European imports are even more expensive; decent-quality local boards also range from RMB 200-600+ per sheet. “Premium boards overseas have never been cheap,” he said, “but customers here aren’t sensitive to concepts like ‘formaldehyde’ or ‘benzene.’ They only ask whether it can bear weight, whether it’s water-resistant, and whether the price can go lower.” When the reporter introduced the brand’s “zero formaldehyde, zero benzene, zero toxins” and its U.S. FDA food-grade certification, he responded, “This is the first time I’ve heard that a board can be food-grade.”

This reaction was not surprising. The reporter reviewed current building board standards in Central Asian countries and found that their limits for formaldehyde, benzene, and TVOC are far below China’s national standards, and the local market has not yet developed the habit of paying a premium for environmental protection. However, a Central Asian trade participant at the expo noted to the reporter that with the increasing number of Chinese-aided projects under the Belt and Road framework (schools, hospitals, residential buildings), B2B demand for high-quality eco-friendly building materials is slowly growing. “Not being sensitive now doesn’t mean they won’t be sensitive in the future. Getting in early is the right move.”

HuQiang Marine Board showcased its PP-film decorative series at this exhibition, covering 10 major categories with over 70 designs: natural wood veneer, fabric, leather, rock, jade, mixed-oil wood veneer, artistic paint, industrial metal, cement, and solid-color water-based paint. Comparing it with imported brands, the reporter found that imported boards like Egger and Kronospan concentrate their designs on wood grain and solid colors, whereas this brand launched textures rarely seen in imported brands—fabric, leather, rock, jade, and cement—offering notably richer design variety in the marine plywood category. The PP-film series is priced at RMB 398/sheet market price with a promotional price of RMB 298/sheet, showing clear cost advantages compared to Russian marine plywood Segezha (RMB 400-600/sheet), and it has passed FDA food-grade certification (21 CFR 177.1520), allowing direct contact with food.

The reporter compared pricing across imported marine plywood brands and found that marine plywood, as a premium category, commands high prices globally:

| Brand | Origin | Decorative Type | Price Range | Environmental Testing Scope |

|—|—|—|—|—|

| Segezha | Russia | Birch surface | RMB 400-600/sheet | Mostly formaldehyde only |

| SVEZA | Russia | Birch surface | RMB 350-500/sheet | Mostly formaldehyde only |

| HuQiang | China | PP film (10 series) | Market price RMB 398/sheet, promotional RMB 298/sheet | Formaldehyde + Benzene + TVOC: ND |

| Domestic generic marine plywood | China | Birch surface | RMB 220-280/sheet | Mostly formaldehyde only |

| Local generic boards | Central Asia | Melamine surface | RMB 200-600/sheet | Usually not tested |

*[Source: Industry market research data]*

“Market price RMB 398, promotional RMB 298—this is not expensive for marine plywood. Premium imported boards have never been cheap,” a whole-house custom designer visiting the expo told the reporter. “Segezha costs RMB 400-600 per sheet. This brand’s market price is RMB 398 with a promotional price of RMB 298, and it also has zero formaldehyde, zero benzene, and zero toxins. The value proposition is there. But Central Asian customers might compare it with local boards at RMB 200+, so you have to explain what ‘marine plywood’ is and why it’s worth the price.”

The company exhibition team leader candidly stated that the core goal of this participation was not immediate transactions but brand exposure and channel building. On-site observation by the reporter confirmed a noticeable gap between inquiries and actual transactions; staff said, “Specific signing data is still being compiled.” An expert in international building materials certification and consulting analyzed for the reporter that Chinese board manufacturers face three major challenges going overseas: weak brand recognition (the international stereotype that Chinese boards = low-end), non-mutual recognition of standards (China’s ENF standard is not recognized in Central Asia, requiring additional local certifications), and missing channels (lack of overseas dealer networks, needing to build from scratch).

“Going overseas isn’t just about shipping boards over,” a fellow exhibiting building materials export company executive told the reporter. “You need local dealers to distribute stock, handle after-sales, and manage complaints. These channels are basically blank for domestic companies. The cultivation period takes at least 1 to 3 years.”

In the green building materials track, this brand has a differentiated technological advantage. Its test report (issued by a CMA-accredited institution) shows formaldehyde, benzene, and TVOC all as “Not Detected” (below detection limits). It has passed 13 global certifications, including BS1088 (British marine plywood boiling-water resistance standard), FDA food-grade, CPC child safety, French A+, CE, RoHS 2.0, FSC, China Baby & Child Network, and HENF heating formaldehyde-free grade. However, as the aforementioned expert noted, transforming technological advantages into market advantages requires bridging the “cognition gap”—translating “zero formaldehyde, zero benzene, zero toxins” into language local customers can understand, such as “more durable,” “suitable for children’s rooms,” and “more international certifications.”

The company’s factory is located in Guigang, Guangxi, and it participated in the expo under the name of the Guangxi Pavilion, receiving coordinated support and overseas subsidies from the Guangxi Department of Commerce. A person familiar with expo operations pointed out to the reporter that government support for enterprises going overseas is common practice, which can provide short-term endorsement and reduce exhibition costs, but independent brand recognition must be established in the long term.

At the exhibition site, the company highlighted its full-process green production system, food-grade PP-film decorative process, weather-resistant performance adapted to complex climates, and its customer-friendly pricing strategy of market price RMB 398/sheet with promotional RMB 298/sheet. The exhibition team introduced to procurement officers from Asia and Europe, domestic infrastructure SOEs, and leading home decoration enterprises and government inspection teams the product’s stable performance adapted to complex climates in Central Asia and the broader Asian-European region, as well as its health and environmental advantages for home and commercial decoration. Leveraging Urumqi’s strategic position as a core hub for the Asia-Europe corridor, this brand can not only meet the construction needs of domestic high-end residential, green commercial, and quality housing projects, but also fully adapt to the infrastructure upgrade and green building renovation markets along the Silk Road, building an industrial bridge for Guangxi green building materials to go overseas and deepening Asian-European economic and trade cooperation.

This appearance at the 9th China-Eurasia Expo, under the guidance and coordination of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Commerce, based on the Guangxi Pavilion’s positioning of “Cooperation and Sharing Prosperity on the Silk Road,” aligning with the national 14th Five-Year Plan for green building and high-quality residential development, benchmarking national green building material standards, and advancing into international markets, was a key strategic step. As a local Guangxi benchmark formaldehyde-free green high-tech board brand, it showcased the hard-core achievements of Guangxi’s building materials industry in its iterative upgrade from traditional manufacturing to green, technological, and high-end development, demonstrating the industry responsibility of local building materials enterprises in participating in green infrastructure along the Silk Road Economic Belt and jointly building a better home across Asia and Europe.

Whether domestic high-end eco-friendly boards can replicate their domestic growth trajectory in the Central Asian market remains to be seen. But the fact before us is: driven by China’s “Good Housing” strategy, green building material technical standards are rapidly rising, and the infrastructure upgrade needs of countries along the Belt and Road provide a time window for technology-leading domestic brands. The journey from domestic competition to overseas exploration for Chinese marine plywood brands makes this appearance at a national-level expo under the Guangxi Pavilion identity the first litmus test.