The Lin-gang Special Area Administration signs an agreement with Brazil's Suzano on March 20. [Photo/WeChat ID: shlgguanweihui]

The Lin-gang Special Area Administration – based in the Lin-gang Special Area, in East China's Shanghai – signed a key agreement with Brazil-based forestry giant Suzano SA on March 20.

As a result, Suzano, a leading global paper and pulp manufacturer, will establish a trade and product innovation center for the Asia-Pacific region in the zone.

To do so, the company plans to leverage the innovative institutional advantages and convenient cross-border fund settlements of the Lin-gang Special Area.

The initiative aims to expand new trade formats such as offshore transactions and to support the Lin-gang Special Area in becoming a demonstration zone for new trading models, with a projected annual trade volume worth over 100 billion yuan ($13.84 billion).

Moreover, the Brazilian group says it will support the Lin-gang area in exploring cross-border data flows in the shipping and trade sector.

It will facilitate the adoption of paperless trading throughout the entire trading process. This will involve the use of electronic bills of lading, invoices and letters of credit – enabling the issuance, circulation, presentation and visual tracking of digital bills of lading.

Established in 1924, Suzano is one of the world's biggest forestry groups and pulp producers, with an annual pulp production capacity topping 10 million metric tons and a total paper and packaging production capacity of over 1.5 million tons.

The company owns about 2.7 million hectares of land worldwide and also operates 13 factories and 30 distribution centers, primarily in Brazil.