On May 22, the International Business Daily published “Confidence, Energetic, and Vigorous: This is the Power of Private Enterprises in China’s Foreign Trade”, with the following content:
In the wave of economic globalization, Chinese private enterprises are rushing to the global market at an astonishing speed and have become the undisputed main force in China’s foreign trade. The data is the most powerful proof – in the first four months of this year, China’s private enterprises’ imports and exports were 8.05 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%, 2.3 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Among them, exports were 5.47 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.1%; imports were 2.58 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%.
Industry insiders interviewed said that for private enterprises to achieve high-quality overseas expansion, the government and enterprises need to work together. Enterprises should enhance their global competitiveness by innovating business models, exploring diversified markets, and deepening cluster cooperation; relevant departments should continue to work hard in improving the system, strengthening policy support, and optimizing the business environment, and build a development synergy through multi-dimensional collaboration to help private enterprises go overseas steadily and achieve long-term development.
Private enterprises show resilience in going global
Walking into the workshop of Shanxi Jiashida Robotics Technology Co., Ltd., the production line is assembling and debugging thousands of window cleaning robots that will be shipped to various places. The workshop is full of busy scenes. Starting from domestic trade, the company’s independently developed products currently have 140 patents and are exported to more than 50 countries and regions around the world.
This year, the complex and ever-changing external environment has brought many uncertainties to foreign trade companies, and exports are facing certain pressures. Jiashida Robotics is actively seeking innovation and change to cope with the changes in exports. The company’s chairman Niu Liqun told the International Business Daily reporter that this year, Jiashida Robotics has made a series of innovations and adjustments from products to expanding international markets around the core strategy of “intelligence + cleaning.” “We continue to increase investment in product research and development and launch a new generation of intelligent window cleaning robot ‘Spray Mop W3 Pro’. This product is very popular in overseas markets with its stronger algorithm capabilities and perception systems. At the 137th Canton Fair, the product attracted a large number of buyers from Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and other places, and the on-site transaction intentions increased significantly.”
“At the same time, the company is actively exploring the ‘Belt and Road’ co-construction countries and emerging markets such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central Asia. For example, the smart window cleaning products that were promoted at the 2024 Berlin International Consumer Electronics Show have won cooperation intentions from channel dealers in Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia and other places.” Niu Liqun said that in the first quarter of this year, Jiasda Robotics’ overseas sales increased significantly year-on-year, especially in the Middle East market, with a year-on-year growth of more than 80%.
Guangdong Leiyang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. also showed flexible and adaptable strategic adjustments in its overseas market expansion. Ye Deta, the company’s sales director of foreign trade, said in an interview with the International Business Daily that during the 137th Canton Fair, the company took the initiative to optimize its exhibition mode, shifting from the previous “open and multi-category promotion” to the precise route of “small but fine, multiple and specialized” – no longer focusing on large-size speakers that are difficult to produce and costly, but focusing on small-size portable speakers with appearance patents, and entering the market segment with differentiated products.
“With the recent stabilization of China-US tariff policies, market activity is gradually picking up. We are still optimistic about the potential of the European and American markets, and will further increase global market layout efforts on the basis of consolidating existing channels in the future.” Ye Deta specifically mentioned that the policy dividends such as the halving of the Canton Fair exhibition fee have made companies feel the government’s determination to stabilize foreign trade. “We will treat each exhibition with more refined preparations and cherish every business opportunity to connect with international merchants.”
The overseas practices of these private enterprises are a vivid portrayal of the strong resilience and vitality of China’s foreign trade.
The synergy between government and enterprises is strong
Zhang Yu, director of the International Economic and Trade Research Office of the Institute of Finance and Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the International Business Daily that private enterprises have strong resilience in developing foreign trade. “This resilience comes from the innovative development of private enterprises in recent years, which have continuously made breakthroughs in new products, new business formats and key technologies; on the other hand, it also comes from the flexibility of private enterprises, which can make rapid adjustments when faced with adverse external shocks.”
Zhang Yu said that in recent years, the government’s policy support for private enterprises, especially some small and medium-sized enterprises, and related institutional innovations have also enhanced the ability of private enterprises to resist external risks and provided development space for private enterprises to respond to environmental changes and adjust their business strategies in a timely manner.
The “Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy” clearly states that “private enterprises are encouraged to expand overseas business” and “encourage the improvement of international competitiveness”, which provides policy guidance and support for supporting private enterprises in coping with external challenges.
At the same time, various regions have also made efforts in multiple dimensions to create a favorable policy environment for private enterprises to go overseas and help them to deepen their presence in overseas markets. Shandong Province has implemented the “10,000 Enterprises Going Overseas, Shandong Trade Global” international market development action, increased the number and density of overseas exhibitions, built an international marketing public service platform, and enhanced the overseas capabilities of enterprises; Shenzhen has introduced ten policies to stabilize foreign trade, supported enterprises to expand markets offline and online, implemented a support plan for key overseas exhibitions, and provided booth fee subsidies and export credit insurance premium support to qualified enterprises.
Experts interviewed believe that it is necessary to continue to release the potential and vitality of private enterprises in the field of foreign trade and further stimulate their greater efficiency as the “main force” of foreign trade. Zhang Yu suggested that enterprises and relevant government departments need to work together. Enterprises should further increase technological innovation, consolidate and enhance market competitiveness; continue to innovate trade formats, and flexibly respond to external shocks by making full use of cross-border e-commerce and promoting the transformation of manufactured goods trade into service-oriented business models; actively explore new trade partners, expand the market scope, and disperse business risks; strengthen cooperation between enterprises, form a cluster development model, and enhance business resilience.
Zhang Yu emphasized that all localities and departments should pay attention to creating a fair and convenient market environment through deepening reforms; strengthen support for small and medium-sized private enterprises in terms of financing, insurance, taxation, etc.; improve the construction of a system for high-quality development of foreign trade; accelerate the establishment of a comprehensive foreign trade service system, give full play to the role of relevant government departments, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, industry associations and various types of comprehensive foreign trade service companies, deeply explore the intrinsic value of various trade fairs, and provide more information support for private foreign trade enterprises.
Source: International Business Daily
