China News Service, Qingdao, September 12 (Wang Yu) In an Indian pepper processing factory, a blue and white "box" is rapidly outputting the peppers after the stems have been removed. This pepper destemming machine developed by Li Zhimin, a farmer in Jiaolai Street, Jiaozhou City, is affectionately called "China's BMW" locally.
In 2009, Li Zhimin, who only had a junior high school education, was still a farmer. Seeing the hard work of pepper farmers removing stems by hand, he plunged into the research and development of agricultural machinery. After many rounds of technology iterations, in 2015, Li Zhimin finally created the world's first practical pepper destemming machine with a complete machine invention patent.
A year later, an order from an Indian merchant helped Li Zhimin kick off the export of his products overseas. Indian pepper processing is highly dependent on labor, with low efficiency and high incidence of work-related injuries. This is where Chinese agricultural machinery comes in. Since then, the pepper destemming machine has continued to adapt to India’s local production scenarios and processing needs. Today, this model has a market share of 98% in India.
"This machine is as reliable as a BMW." An Indian businessman once praised this machine from China. In addition to word-of-mouth reputation, the pepper destemming machine has also been included in the list of agricultural machinery purchase subsidies by the Indian government. At the end of 2018, Li Zhimin set up a branch in India, gradually forming a two-way trade closed loop of "equipment overseas + raw material import".
With the help of the "east wind" from the construction of the SCO Demonstration Zone, Li Zhimin packaged and exported the entire pepper industry chain from seeds to equipment. He said that his dream is to "turn grassroots dreams into Made in China and bring Chinese agricultural machinery to the world stage."
About 5 minutes' drive from Li Zhimin's factory, the potato machinery developed by farmer inventor Wu Hongzhu is also exported to the world. In the early days of his business, the first potato harvester he developed was met with skepticism during field trials. Today, the company's model has been iterated to the 27th generation, with an annual output value exceeding RMB 200 million.
"Wherever potatoes are grown in the world, there is a potato machine invented by us." Wu Hongzhu said proudly that India is the world's major potato producer, and Hongzhu's sowing and harvesting machinery is very popular there. Currently, his products are exported to more than 70 countries and regions, providing solutions for potato planting in SCO countries and countries co-building the “Belt and Road”.
Qingdao Damuer Machinery Co., Ltd. ("Damuren" for short), which is rooted in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone, has opened up the Indian market with its green and intelligent breeding technology. According to reports, the company's development in the Indian market has ushered in "explosive growth" in recent years, and the contract amount in 2025 will increase several times compared with previous years.
More than just exporting equipment, Daimuren relies on the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Eco-Environmental Protection Innovation Base to practice the full chain of "equipment + technology + services" overseas, simultaneously export China's green breeding standards, and explore a green development path for animal husbandry that adapts to local conditions. In 2025, Damuren’s business in SCO countries and countries co-building the “Belt and Road” will account for 93%.
From the breakthrough of a single machine to the expansion of clusters, behind it is the continuous release of the platform effect of the SCO Demonstration Zone. Relying on the SCO Economic and Trade Comprehensive Service Platform and the "Silk Road E-commerce" comprehensive service base, the entire chain of supply and demand docking, international logistics, customs clearance compliance, and cross-border settlement has been opened up, and companies can "accept global orders at home." Platform mechanisms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization International Investment and Trade Expo and the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Industrial Park Alliance have allowed companies to "go overseas as a team."
