Resilience of export firms bearing fruit

Chinese exporters are accelerating digital upgrades, advancing green development and expanding connections with European and emerging markets to offset the impact of the United States' tariff hikes, with transformation efforts already yielding tangible results.

As the US continues to wield tariffs in ways that disrupt the established international trade order, government officials and manufacturers said that China's foreign trade sector remains resilient and well-positioned to navigate external challenges.

Driven by shifting global market dynamics, a surge of new products, business models and trade formats is taking shape in China.

Xiao Lu, deputy director of the department of foreign trade at the Ministry of Commerce, said that Chinese manufacturers are tapping into the country's comprehensive industrial system and strong supply chain ecosystem to more effectively integrate resources.

"They are pursuing quality for survival and leveraging innovation to tap into more emerging markets, services for foundation-building and branding for improved profitability," said Xiao, who emphasized that the fundamentals supporting the long-term, stable growth of China's foreign trade remain unchanged.

One such company is Zhejiang Minglei Tools Industry Co, an electric tools manufacturer based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. It saw its export value rise 15 percent year-on-year to 24 million yuan ($3.3 million) in the first quarter of 2025, according to Ningbo Customs data.

During the first phase of the 137th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, in mid-April in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, the company prominently displayed several newly designed, lightweight power tools tailored for European customers, and it established deeper cooperation intentions with clients from Central Asia and South America.

"Faced with mounting external pressures, we made a fresh attempt to expand into the European home appliance market this year," said Liu Hui, Zhejiang Minglei's sales director. "In response to rising labor costs and the increasing demand for household power tools in Europe, we have developed new models featuring external battery cells, offering a lightweight design that also meets the European Union's latest environmental regulations."

Propelled by China's soaring trade value with emerging markets, Agco (Changzhou) Agricultural Machinery Co, a tractor and generator manufacturer in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, recorded exports to South Africa totaling 14.74 million yuan between January and March, up 212.1 percent year-on-year, according to Nanjing Customs.

"Rising demand for agricultural machinery in emerging markets is driving strong sales of our fuel-efficient equipment and digital solutions, particularly in Brazil, Egypt and Indonesia," said Zhang Yaqing, the company's head of logistics.

Highlighting that China's expanding network of trade partners is becoming a new driver of export growth, Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said a more diversified market landscape is taking shape at a faster pace.

That sentiment is in line with the latest data. China's trade with countries such as Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom saw robust growth in the first quarter, while its trade with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative grew 2.2 percent year-on-year to 5.26 trillion yuan, accounting for over 51 percent of the total, data from the General Administration of Customs shows.

To further support manufacturers in exploring diversified markets and mitigating the impact of unilateralism, the China Foreign Trade Center, the organizer of the Canton Fair, announced on Thursday that the ongoing 137th Canton Fair will offer a 50 percent reduction in booth fees for exhibitors in the export section. The discounted amount will be refunded through the original payment channels.

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn