Qinghai pitches highland produce at China Intl Supply Chain Expo

Yak, salmon, highland vegetables and cold-water fish from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were on display at the fourth China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing this week, as Qinghai province looks to turn its high-altitude, pollution-free environment into a commercial advantage.

The Qinghai booth at the fourth China International Supply Chain Expo, Beijing, June 24, 2026. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn]

The booth featured food models of regional dishes and video displays tracing the supply chain from farm to processing. Visitors could taste samples and watch livestreams from farms. The booth also connected local suppliers with supermarket buyers and cross-border e-commerce platforms.

Among the exhibitors was Qinghai 5369 Ecological Animal Husbandry Technology Co., a Shanghai-assisted poverty alleviation enterprise that has spent 15 years developing a yak industry chain in the province. This was its second year at the expo.

The company promoted yak bone collagen peptide, produced through enzymatic hydrolysis. Tong Hongxia, head of the company's Beijing office, said the peptide is highly absorbable and carries broader implications for the sector. "This product doesn't just carry its own value — it also lifts the entire yak industry chain," Tong said.

On the expo's opening day, the company signed a cooperation agreement with an industry platform serving organic producers, with connections in the catering and gift sectors. "We are both organic, so the connection makes sense," Tong said.

Ma Tao, a senior official from one of Qinghai's key industrial zones and a member of the province's exhibition team, said the region's high-altitude, pollution-free environment gives its products a competitive edge. "Qinghai has many highland treasures — salmon, yak, lamb, goji berries," he said. "What we need is a good platform to take them to the rest of the country and the world."

Ma said he has been encouraging local companies to go beyond product display. "I told them: two things. First, show what you have. Second, go talk to other exhibitors — upstream and downstream — and find ways to cooperate," he said. Some exhibitors had already left their booths to seek out potential partners in other sections, he added.

Ma Tao, left, and Tong Hongxia introduce products to visitors at the fourth China International Supply Chain Expo, Beijing, June 24, 2026. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn]

"The supply chain expo is not about competition between companies," Ma said. "It's about cooperation between the upstream and downstream of industry chains. That's the original purpose of this event."

For Qinghai, a region better known for its natural landscape than its agricultural exports, the expo represented a step toward broader market access.

"We use the word 'genuine' to describe our products and our approach," Ma said. "That's the biggest promise we can offer."