A Delegation from Brazil: Building Bridges at Home

In 2018, the bridge HONGDA had built to Brazil became a two-way street. A Brazilian government delegation traveled to China and came to Ningbo. Their visit coincided with the Zhejiang Investment and Trade Symposium, one of the province's most important events for international business exchange, an occasion for connection, negotiation and the strengthening of ties between Zhejiang and the world.

But this was not just a Brazilian visit. It was a multinational moment. Delegations from Brazil, Iran, Pakistan, Kenya and Tanzania came together: five nations, different regions, a shared set of opportunities. Their presence in Ningbo sent a powerful signal that this city, and the companies within it, had become a destination for global business.

For HONGDA, the visit carried special meaning. The company had been working in Brazil since 2001, opening markets, building partnerships and earning trust. Now the relationship was being elevated from business to government-level engagement, and HONGDA was not alone: the presence of the Iranian, Pakistani, Kenyan and Tanzanian delegations reflected the breadth of a global network built over decades, across continents.

The delegation was received by senior leaders of Ningbo, including the Deputy Mayor and the Director of the Foreign Affairs Office, Chen Guomiao, along with President Xu of the Ningbo Council for the Promotion of International Trade and other officials, a meeting that signaled the relationship between Ningbo and these nations was not only commercial, but strategic.

One of the most meaningful moments came when the Ningbo Chemical Industry Council for the Promotion of International Trade, representing the Ningbo Council for the Promotion of International Trade, presented Honorary Envoy Certificates to the visiting delegates, recognizing them as friends of Ningbo and bridges between their nations and China. The delegation also visited HONGDA's headquarters, walking through the offices, meeting the team and seeing firsthand the company that had been their partner for nearly two decades.

Then came a moment that touched the company deeply: at HONGDA, the delegation awarded a Friendship Medal, a personal recognition of the partnership built together. For Chairman Yuan Junjie and the HONGDA team, the medal represented something beyond business: proof that showing up, listening and investing in people had created something that transcended transactions.

The agenda also included a tour of the Ningbo Chemical Industrial Park, including Xinfu Titanium Dioxide, our cooperation partner in the NTR-606 breakthrough, and the National Titanium Dioxide Conference, a platform for knowledge exchange among China's TiO2 industry. Discussions with the Park's management turned to investment: how enterprises from Brazil, Iran and Pakistan might invest in Ningbo, and how Ningbo companies might deepen their presence in these markets.

The story did not end in Ningbo. The momentum carried into 2019, when HONGDA traveled to Brazil for the Brazil Coatings Show, one of South America's most important events for the paints, inks and coatings industry, where the relationships built in Ningbo became the foundation for new conversations in São Paulo. For Chairman Yuan Junjie and the HONGDA team, it was a reminder that business is never just about transactions: it is about the networks of partners, institutions and governments that make lasting growth possible, and that sometimes the greatest reward is not a contract, but a friendship medal.