Sharing developmental opportunities with global community

On April 15, the first day of the 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Yuan Qinshan, chairman of Dayun Group, a Yuncheng, Shanxi province-headquartered auto manufacturer, could not hide his joy.

"We secured export orders for hundreds of pickups and trucks, worth over 60 million yuan ($8.29 million). Most of them will be shipped to the African market. This mega trade show has truly exceeded our expectations," Yuan said.

Ningbo APG Appliance and Technology Co Ltd, a manufacturer based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, also sealed deals worth nearly $1 million during the first four days of the Canton Fair, with more than 70 percent of these agreements involving new clients.

"Our recently developed fuel heaters garnered significant interest from buyers across various countries, including Lebanon, Norway, Romania and Russia," said Luo Guoding, the company's chairman.

The Canton Fair, which will close on Sunday, attracted 125,440 overseas buyers from 212 countries and regions in its first phase from April 15 to 19, up 23 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the Guangzhou-based China Foreign Trade Center, one of the organizers.

The fair exemplifies China's commitment to sharing developmental opportunities with the global community, said Zhao Ping, dean of the Beijing-based Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Through this and similar platforms like the China International Supply Chain Expo, China provides a wide range of competitive, high-quality products to the global market, aiding in the industrialization of countries, particularly those in the developing world, said Zhao.

Moreover, these efforts strengthen the resilience and stability of both regional and global industrial and supply chains, she said.

China's foreign trade grew by 5 percent year-on-year to 10.17 trillion yuan in the first quarter, with exports rising 4.9 percent year-on-year to 5.74 trillion yuan, statistics from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Market watchers said that China's foreign trade is expected to continue its uptrend in the second quarter, maintaining a growth trajectory through the first half of the year.

They highlighted that the country's trade progress is underpinned by a robust industrial foundation, fast-growing technology, tech-intensive green product industries, improved innovation capabilities, numerous free trade agreements and tangible development spawned by the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chen Bin, deputy director of expert committee at the Beijing-based China Machinery Industry Federation, said that China's export portfolio has shown robust performance in machinery and electronics, as well as labor-intensive products, underscoring their sustained international appeal.

Meanwhile, the steady increase in imports of bulk commodities and consumer goods reflects a vibrant and expanding domestic market demand, said Chen.

"The global demand for Chinese engineering machinery stems from their reliability, durability and performance, coupled with timely after-sales support," he said. "These machines are highly sought after globally and frequently used in major construction projects abroad."

For instance, Chinese manufacturers often design trucks that are well suited to the varied and often harsh road conditions in certain African countries. These vehicles are capable of handling rough terrain, which is common in many parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers in Beijing.

Zhang Xiaotao, dean of the School of International Trade and Economics at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, however, noted that China's foreign trade faces pressure due to the restructuring of the global value chain.

While exports to developed economies have declined, those to Japan and South Korea have remained relatively stable, and there has been an increase in exports to developing economies, including countries in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, he said.

Arashi Vision Inc, a Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based consumer electronics manufacturer, said its virtual reality and spherical video cameras have been sold to over 200 countries and regions, covering more than 3,000 stores, and its global market share now exceeds 50 percent.

"At present, about 70 percent of our market share is derived from international sales, predominantly in regions and countries like Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea. Additionally, we have noticed our sales rising in several emerging Southeast Asian markets in recent years," said Chen Yongqiang, one of the company's co-founders.

China's trade with Latin America and the five Central Asian countries has achieved double-digit growth in the first quarter, while its trade with developed economies such as the United States and Japan has shown a positive recovery, with the decline in the first-quarter imports and exports narrowing by 5.9 percentage points and 1.2 percentage points, respectively, compared to 2023, according to Customs data.

Accounting for 47.4 percent of China's total foreign trade value in the first quarter, the nation's trade with economies participating in the BRI rose 5.5 percent year-on-year to 4.82 trillion yuan.

While external demand recovery is still in progress, Zhang highlighted that China's foreign trade continues to show strength in certain sectors. For example, a surge in shipbuilding orders has boosted electromechanical exports, and the expansion of cross-border e-commerce has helped more brands to go global.

Amid significant changes in the global landscape and numerous formidable challenges to worldwide economic development, Chinese companies are focusing on developing and exporting products that are technologically sophisticated, eco-friendly and have high added value, supporting the country's efforts to enhance its trade mix, said Lin Jiantian, director of department of enterprise management and audit-based control at the GAC.

Echoing that sentiment, Huo Lei, president of the international business unit at China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co Ltd, a Zhengzhou, Henan province-headquartered tunnel boring machine or TBM manufacturer, said that in the first quarter, the company achieved a milestone by selling a TBM to Saudi Arabia for the first time. This follows the company's history of shipping TBMs to over 30 countries and regions since 2012.

The State-owned enterprise has scheduled production from January to December this year, with over 30 units already designated for export. This represents a notable rise in monthly export volumes compared to previous years.

TBMs are used to excavate tunnels, subway tubes and sewer lines. Compared with traditional tunnel-boring methods like rock drilling, blasting and hand mining in soil, the use of such equipment can minimize the impact on the surrounding ground and produce a smooth tunnel wall, helping certain tunnel projects run through unstable geological conditions.

"As a product widely used in construction, Chinese-made TBMs are continually enhanced through rigorous field use. Thanks to advances in the nation's industrial modernization, the quality of these machines has significantly improved," he said, adding Chinese TBMs command nearly 70 percent of the global market share now.

China is targeting around 5 percent GDP growth for 2024, a goal that officials and analysts believe is well within reach, considering the country's sound economic fundamentals and supportive macroeconomic policy mix.

Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the China Association of Policy Science's Economic Policy Committee, said that expanding intermediate goods trade can also be a priority for maintaining the stability of China's foreign trade.

By providing reliable and high-quality intermediate goods, China can support the development and expansion of manufacturing industries in countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico, Hungary and Algeria, fostering their economic growth and ultimately contributing to global economic recovery, said Xu.

"Decoupling from China is not a viable option for the world, and China will not decouple from the global community. That is the reality," said Lin Meng, director of the Modern Supply Chain Research Institute at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Lin said that the US and the European Union need to recognize this instead of obstructing exchanges and development with unfair trade restrictions.