Airbus said earlier that for manufacturing the A320, it required more than 60 days for Airbus to purchase raw materials in the United States, produce the wing rib in the United Kingdom, and take the final assembly work in Tianjin.

Now, the transportation time period has been shortened to 10 days since Airbus now purchases raw materials and produces the wing rib locally in China.

There, the vendors are competing against each other to woo discerning customers who know which stores offer the best spare rib soup or fried noodles.

Sisay Asmare, general manager of RIB Industrial and Commercial Plc and president of Ethiopian Pulses, Oilseeds and Spices Processors-Exporters Association, said the CIIE serves as an efficient platform to meet and forge business partnerships with potential Chinese customers.

Since 2003, RIB has been actively engaged in exporting agricultural commodities such as sesame seeds, pulses — leguminous crops that grow for food and oil — spices and other varieties of beans and oilseeds, with China serving as one of its major export destinations.

These include both traditional Western-style striploin and rib eye, as well as hotpot slices, shank meat and ox tail that are more suited to local tastes.

Following a process that involves making the umbrella rib, drawing on the silk, pasting the silk on the rib, and detailed polishing, the workers can create about 1,200 umbrellas in a day.