Mozambique and Guyana are on the radar of a leading Chinese distant-water fishing firm, which is negotiating an access deal with the two states. according to a senior executive speaking during the annual sitting of China’s congress.
Lin Lanying, vice president of Fuzhou Hong Dong Yuan Yang Fishing Co., made the announcement in Beijing after the provincial delegation from Fujian Province met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the week-long sitting of the National People’s Congress.
Lin credited Xi for internationalizing fishing companies like Hong Dong when he served as the Communist Party boss of Fuzhou earlier in his political career.
Even as Xi’s government pursues an unprecedented crackdown on overfishing in China’s domestic waters, Hong Dong has sought to expand in Africa from its fishing base in Mauritania. The company has looked at the more southerly West African state of Guinea, meeting recently with that country’s minister for fisheries and aquaculture.
Hong Dong operates what it claims is China’s largest overseas fishery base in Mauritania. The operation is shipping 2,500 tons per week to European Union and U.S. customers, company CEO Chen Zhengjie told Fujian provincial TV in late 2018.
