On May 31, the "World Apple Center" project was established in the Airport New City of Xixian New Area, attracting widespread media attention. Media outlets such as China News Service, China Daily, and the International Business Daily all competed to report on it, while Shaanxi Television and Xi'an Television each aired double news segments. Recently, China National Radio also conducted an in-depth report on the "World Apple Center" project. The 15-minute program not only provided a comprehensive introduction and overview of the project but also invited experts such as Jiang Yuechun, Director of the Institute of World Economics and Development at the China Institute of International Studies, to offer professional analysis and interpretation. Now, let’s take a look at the content of this program:
Host: The signing ceremony for the World Apple Center was held in the Airport New City of Xixian New Area, Shaanxi. It is understood that this is the first internet+ industrial project jointly launched with Zhejiang businesses in Xixian New Area since the approval of the Shaanxi Free Trade Zone. So, what exactly is the World Apple Center? Let’s hear from He Jian, Party Committee Secretary and Director of the Management Committee of the Airport New City, Xixian New Area.
He Jian: By utilizing an internet+ apple cloud + financial services model, it can solve the difficulties fruit farmers face in selling their produce; additionally, through apple sales, it helps gather supply sources for building China’s Memphis.
Host: The Memphis mentioned by He Jian is a city in Tennessee, USA. It serves as a hub for rail, road, and air transport in the United States, and a major distribution center for agricultural and livestock products—especially known for its large markets in cotton, cottonseed oil, and hardwood. Memphis International Airport is even the world’s second-largest cargo airport. The World Apple Center will focus on trading of agricultural and sideline products along the Belt and Road, finance, warehousing, an apple museum, and more. Benchmarking against global centers like the Chicago Global Soybean Trading Center, the Amsterdam Global Flower Trading Center, and the Guangxi Global Sugar Trading Center, it aims to build a hundred-billion-yuan World Apple Center in Shaanxi. By establishing an integrated, cluster-based development system across the entire industry chain, it will create a platform-based, information-driven, and global trading marketplace, allowing fruit farmers to connect directly with global buyers without leaving home. The first-year transaction volume is expected to reach 10 billion yuan, with revenue of about 250 million yuan and tax revenue of around 65 million yuan. Yu Jiangbo, President of Xinguang Holding Group and a representative of Zhejiang businesses, hopes to use this platform to aggregate business flows, logistics, capital flows, and all information flows in real time.
Yu Jiangbo: By building such a platform, centered around the world’s apple production bases, we can aggregate business flows, logistics, even capital flows, and all information flows in real time. Shaanxi will become a global apple trading center.
Host: What is your observation on this World Apple Center?
Economic Observer: The World Apple Center is benchmarked against the flower trading center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. For Xi’an to become a global apple center, it shares some commonalities with international soybean and flower trading hubs. For example, the Chicago Global Soybean Trading Center: the United States produces over one-third of the world’s soybeans, and the trading center monopolizes over 90% of the global soybean export market. Looking at the Dutch flower trading center in Amsterdam, the country’s flower output exceeds more than half of the world’s total. In comparison, you’ll find that Shaanxi has this advantage—one out of every four apples in China is produced in Shaanxi, and one out of every seven globally comes from Shaanxi. Xi’an can leverage its massive apple production to do business globally. This is the confidence behind proposing the construction of the World Apple Center. Our country’s economic development has been very rapid in recent years, making us the world’s second-largest economy, and our economy is deeply integrated into the global market. But in the field of bulk commodity trading, we indeed lack pricing power. For instance, we import a large amount of soybeans annually, with a dependence on foreign soybeans exceeding 85%, making us the world’s largest soybean customer, yet the pricing power is not in our hands. So, in this sense, establishing a commodity trading center for agricultural and sideline products is beneficial for the development of the entire industry and helpful in gaining a commanding position in global pricing.
Host: So, high production volume is just a prerequisite for establishing this World Apple Center. The key is the competition for pricing power after its establishment—that’s the crucial point. Also, why did Xixian New Area choose to collaborate with Zhejiang businesses this time?
Economic Observer: When mentioning Zhejiang businesses, you might think of Jack Ma, Hangzhou, Alibaba, Alipay, and so on. Zhejiang businesses have gone quite far in the "internet+" domain in recent years. A platform like the World Apple Center, in the context of the internet era, must rely on the informational platform created by the internet for transactions. In these aspects, they’ve found their respective points of need and mutual interests.
Host: China is the country with the largest apple planting area and the highest total apple production in the world. As a major apple-producing province, Shaanxi alone accounts for a quarter of the national output and one-seventh of the global output. Jiang Yuechun, Director of the Institute of World Economics and Development at the China Institute of International Studies, believes that while the concept of the World Apple Center is excellent, there will be several major challenges in its practical implementation.
Jiang Yuechun: The idea of building a World Apple Center is good, but we must adapt to local conditions and seek markets worldwide based on our own strengths. Several points need attention: first, the scale of production, supply capacity, product quality, and competitiveness in the global product market. To my knowledge, some countries produce apples very well and of high quality, also meeting pesticide residue standards. Especially regarding pesticide residues, some countries have very high standards. Whether our products can meet those standards and gain entry—these factors need consideration.
Host: According to the plan, the World Apple Center will leverage internet+ big data to carry out online contract farming, achieving precise matching between apple demand and supply sides, expanding apple sales channels, and accumulating apple trading data. At the same time, it will harness financial functions through internet+ finance, establishing banking and corporate partnerships with financial institutions to provide smooth financial service channels for all links in Shaanxi’s apple industry chain, including SMEs and operators. In the distribution process, the platform will utilize internet+ logistics to create a farm-to-table circulation platform. Supported by brand design, promotion, and warehousing logistics systems, it will enhance the industrial value of Shaanxi apples in the global market. Jiang Yuechun repeatedly urges that setting apple quality standards should be the top priority in building the World Apple Center.
Jiang Yuechun: The key lies in product quality. Whether our product quality can pass muster and be accepted and recognized by other countries in the world is the more important challenge we face.
Host: In the future, the World Apple Center will gradually expand to include the fruit industry, circular agriculture, agricultural inputs, farm supermarkets, and agricultural innovation, exploring multi-category, multi-seasonal agricultural product trading models to promote industrial upgrading in Shaanxi and drive the global outreach of Shaanxi’s characteristic agriculture. Comparing horizontally with other global trading centers, such as Chicago’s Global Soybean Trading Center and Amsterdam’s Flower Trading Center—these spontaneously emerged due to sufficiently large trading volumes, determined by market forces. But the World Apple Center project is more government-led, with the government setting the stage and enterprises performing. Will it end up being all talk and little action?
Economic Observer: Market scale expansion is a natural process—it’s like an apple tree, from sowing to growing, to finally blossoming and bearing fruit. We must respect natural laws.
Host: How do we avoid forcing growth prematurely?
Economic Observer: To achieve a large market, the fundamental factor is that buyers and sellers are willing to trade on the platform, gradually forming a positive cycle. Only then will the market grow bigger and bigger. The larger the scale, the easier it is to achieve a fairer and more reasonable price, and a fair, reasonable price will attract new buyers and sellers to trade here. From the perspective of market development, the government’s visible hand must follow the market’s invisible hand to jointly foster the market’s growth.
Host: Consumer familiarity and public support are also crucial. Right now, Shaanxi apples have high production volume, but their visibility is even lower than that of Yantai apples or Xinjiang’s Aksu apples. What directions does it still need to work toward in the future?
Economic Observer: The internet promotes transparency and symmetry of information. Full use can be made of the Internet of Things to enable full industry chain traceability for every apple, with all information displayed on the trading platform, which will facilitate overall market transactions. Moreover, it can push farmers to cultivate apples according to trading standards, promoting a more streamlined and standardized apple production process in Shaanxi and across the nation.
Host: Establishing the World Apple Center is just the first step in operations. Many more challenges lie ahead. How do we leverage our advantages and rise to the challenges?
Economic Observer: Xi’an has a locational advantage, situated at the core connecting east and west, linking the east to the west, and serving as the junction of central and mid-western economies. In terms of the internet, it is the network hub among the five northwestern provinces. Improvements in internet accessibility and practicality will foster market cultivation and development.