The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday opened its first Procurement Information Center (PIC) in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang province.

The UNHCR helps and protects 192 million refugees worldwide and those in refugee-like situations.

Michel Gabauden, a UNHCR representative in China and Mongolia, said: "The objective of the PIC is to support UNHCR's sourcing activities in China."

A PIC is tasked with procuring and/or purchasing supplies. 

"Yiwu, as the largest marketplace of small commodities, owns good transportation facilities, which can satisfy UNHCR's requirements, that's why we established the PIC here," Gabauden added.

Dong Hong, deputy director of the International Economic and Technological Commission, said the current information exchange system is inadequate. This has prevented the UNHCR from procuring in China and he hopes the establishment of the PIC will help to change things.

Prior to the PIC, the UNHCR established a Regional Supply Unit in Beijing in 2004 that carried out essentially the same functions as the PIC.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2005)