General

In the first quarter, China's international trade imports and exports achieved a "stable opening", but at the same time, the global trade situation still faces many uncertainties, and the order pressure of Chinese foreign trade enterprises cannot be underestimated.

To this end, the government has once again stepped forward to launch a "service package". The General Office of the State Council recently issued the "Opinions on Promoting Stable Scale and Optimal Structure of Foreign Trade", focusing on the current obstacles, difficulties, and pain points in foreign trade development, proposing 18 measures in five aspects to inject a strong shot into foreign trade enterprises.

The perception and actions of frontline foreign trade enterprises are the most authentic portrayal of the foreign trade situation. The reporter found in the interview that in the face of weak external demand, some companies are actively expanding more channels and targeting emerging markets to make efforts; Some enterprises constantly innovate their products and bravely explore the international trade market with their brands and quality; Some enterprises keep up with the times and take the lead in embracing digitization... The "sentient beings" of foreign trade enterprises reflect new trends, new driving forces, and new opportunities in China's foreign trade development.

Seeking orders to expand the market

Enterprises adapt to changes

In stark contrast to the sluggish demand in the European and American markets, emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America are emerging.

The most obvious feeling from Liu Mengping, General Manager of Guangdong Shunde Duomeng Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd. is that since the second half of last year, the company's orders from Europe and America have decreased, but orders from the Southeast Asian market have significantly increased.

"We were very optimistic about the Southeast Asian market, and the effective implementation of RCEP has provided more and better opportunities for the company. At present, we are preparing to vigorously expand relevant markets, including participating in various exhibitions held by Southeast Asian countries." Liu Mengping said that the company will focus on the markets in Southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East, expand the markets of countries and regions along the "the Belt and Road", and strive for more orders.

This is in line with the trend of changes in the foreign trade market - China's imports and exports to emerging markets such as ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa increased by 16.1%, 11.7%, and 14.1% respectively in the first quarter, with a total increase of 2.4 percentage points in scale, reaching 28.4%. In response to the new trends and changes in foreign trade development, the Opinion particularly emphasizes encouraging and guiding local organizations to carry out trade promotion activities towards free trade partners such as RCEP.

The key to winning international trade orders and winning the market for Guangzhou Phyllis Solar Technology Co., Ltd. is its products. This lithium battery pack for the Middle East market is a new product that we have launched this year. It has strong storage capacity and can provide about 10 hours of household electricity at a low price. It can meet the various needs of Middle Eastern customers in terms of performance and is highly popular in the local market. "Wu Haoming, Sales Manager of Philips Asia Pacific, told the International Business Daily that the new energy storage enterprise is facing fierce global competition to meet the needs of Africa, Europe, the Middle East In response to the needs of differentiated markets such as Southeast Asia, the company has devoted itself to research and design for each market, forming unique technological advantages, product advantages, and market advantages.

Looking ahead, Phyllis is full of confidence and anticipation. Although the past three years have been relatively closed, we have been dedicated to developing iterative new products, which can be said to be a 'sword sharpened in three years'. Wu Haoming said that research and development requires a large amount of investment, and policies such as tax exemptions from the government allow enterprises to move forward with ease. At present, Phyllis enjoys the R&D fee deduction and high-tech enterprise income tax preferential policies. In 2022, the company also received nearly 40 million yuan in international trade export tax refunds. These have strongly supported the company's technological updates and iterations, effectively promoting our exploration of new markets

Expanding channels to promote innovation

Enterprise transformation and upgrading

In the past three years, especially under the catalysis of the epidemic, global digital technology has developed rapidly, providing good opportunities for foreign trade enterprises to make Digital transformation in trade.

In the trend of upgrading the digital economy, the competitive advantage of global industries is no longer limited to cost advantages, but has been transformed into comprehensive advantages in the industrial chain, product, and retail efficiency. "The head of Guangdong Delma Technology Co., Ltd. told the International Business Daily reporter that China currently has the world's largest small home appliance production capacity, and Chinese enterprises are globally leading in the research and development of intelligent products, With the release of the industrial cluster effect and the transfer of the global industrial chain transfer, Chinese enterprises' own brands have entered the fast lane of going overseas. China's small household appliances industry is expected to speed up going overseas, bringing low-cost, cost-effective and innovative products brought by China's supply chain advantages to the world.

The person in charge introduced that since 2020, Delma has been carrying out digital and intelligent upgrading and transformation, actively layout and integrate upstream and downstream resources of the industrial chain, consolidate supply chain coordination capabilities, stack independent production capabilities, and create the "ultimate supply chain". In 2021, Delma acquired 120 acres of land in the Sanlongwan Intelligent Manufacturing Cluster in Foshan City, and will invest over 1 billion yuan to build a 300000 square meter intelligent manufacturing production base. It is expected that the new base will fully realize the digitalization of manufacturing system, operation management, and production sales coordination after it is put into operation in 2024. It is worth mentioning that cross-border e-commerce, as a new digital trade channel connecting global markets, has become an important lever for stabilizing foreign trade. Many foreign trade enterprises are upgrading through channels such as cross-border e-commerce, using new models and services to obtain orders and expand into the international trade market.

As a high-tech enterprise specializing in industrial laser cutting equipment, Liaocheng Foster Laser Technology Co., Ltd. has become a frequent customer of cross-border live streaming on Alibaba International Station. We do live streaming every day during the 'March New Trade Festival', and it's also continuous in April, "Xu Zhangang, the company's general manager, told the International Business Daily reporter. Carrying out cross-border live streaming has turned the company's overseas customers from one offline to hundreds or thousands online. During the live broadcast, Foster's foreign trade team will introduce products to overseas customers in English, or invite partners to visit the company's two 10000 square meter factories in the "cloud". In short, it means replacing regular emails and social media chats with more authentic and concrete video language, which not only brings each other closer, but also enhances trust.

Xu Zhangang introduced that at the end of December last year, Foster received an order from a United Nations equipment procurement supplier at Alibaba International Station. Although the amount was not significant, the trust made the team excited. The order is currently in transit. B-end customers need a long-term training process, so cross-border B-end live streaming is also urgent and must be done consistently

The Opinion also proposes to accelerate the innovative development of foreign trade, maintain the stability of the supply chain of the foreign trade industry chain, and focus on promoting the digitization of trade and promoting the healthy and sustainable innovative development of cross-border e-commerce. The release of these policy dividends will inject new impetus into the optimization of China's foreign trade stability and scale structure.