China spurs innovation to steady foreign trade
CHINA is fostering new competitive edges from electric cars to e-commerce platforms to stabilize foreign trade this year against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy.
A “ro-ro” (roll-on/roll-off) cargo vessel, carrying more than 5,000 new energy vehicles, embarked on its maiden voyage last week from Shenzhen Port in south China’s Guangdong Province. The ship leased to Chinese automaker BYD set sail for the ports of Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Bremerhaven in Germany.
Car exports emerged as a bright spot in China’s foreign trade. With 4.91 million vehicles shipped overseas in 2023, the country is expected to become the world’s largest auto exporter.
Clothes, furniture and home appliances — major products from China in the past — have been replaced by the tech-intensive and green “new three,” namely electric passenger vehicles, solar batteries and lithiumion batteries, which reported a combined export volume of over 1 trillion yuan (US$140 billion) last year.
“Innovation is especially critical in a saturated global market,” Zhang Wei, vice president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of
Commerce, said on China’s changing export structure.
In the face of fierce global competition, Chinese enterprises are accelerating their transition toward intelligent and environmentally friendly practices in hopes of standing out with new technologies and compelling products.
At the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show, which concluded recently in Las Vegas, Chinese companies launched a series of new tech products, including new-generation TVs, robots, electric vehicles and solar panels.
Computer giant Lenovo unveiled a full lineup of more than 40 new devices and solutions powered by artificial intelligence. Television brand TCL presented the world’s largest QD-Mini LED TV. Hisense brought its automobile laser displays, rollable laser TVs, and cutting-edge screen technologies.
Chinese enterprises no longer rely solely on low prices but boast fresh advantages of high technologies, high added value, and high quality, Fang Xueyu, president of Hisense Group’s international marketing unit, said.
Apart from tech products, booming e-commerce platforms have also given a boost to China’s foreign trade.
In Yiwu, a small commodities hub in Zhejiang Province, Guo Xinxin is contemplating the possibility of exploring Mercado Libre, the largest ecommerce platform in Latin America, as a means to expand his business.
Guo works for a trading company and leads a team responsible for selling kitchen utensils and household products on various e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, AliExpress and TEMU. Manufacturers only need to send the goods to the domestic warehouse of the platforms, which handle cross-border logistics, marketing promotion, return and exchange, and even legal affairs.
“Many producers who were engaged only in domestic trade are going overseas through this mode.”
(Xinhua)
Innovation is especially critical in a saturated global market.
Zhang Wei Vice president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation