With an upsurge of keeping fit under China's national strategy of Fitness-for-All, a wide spectrum of cutting-edge gym equipment has been put into the market to help satisfy personal fitness needs around the country.
With the continuous expansion and upgrading of sports fields and school sports facilities all around China, demand for synthetic turf is expanding year by year. In a workshop that manufactures artificial turf in Laoling City in China's eastern province of Shandong, the production line, with an annual output of 20 million square meters, is working at full throttle to meet the orders.
The brand-new artificial grass is 100 percent recyclable and can be customized with a variety of patterns thanks to fully automated intelligent equipment.
"Both production and sales are booming, with the amount up more than 30 percent over last year. And the production schedule of our orders has been extended to September," said Bian Xiaonan, president of a sports industry group in Shandong Province.
Meanwhile, fitness is meeting modern entertainment technology at a sports equipment company in Dongguan City of south China's Guangdong Province. The company produces more than 50 types of equipment, from an intelligent voice-powered skipping rope to a smart push-up board.
"The more people jump, the better they feel. It can inspire people to exercise scientifically," said He Xin, a rope-skipping enthusiast.
Another sporting goods laboratory in Dongguan has independent property rights for a spring trampoline that is becoming popular among companies around the world seeking to keep their workforce in shape.
"This batch of trampolines will be exported to Italy. And now we are negotiating over reordering," said Jia Xueping, head of a sports goods company in Guangdong Province.
Eager to support China's booming sports industry, colleges in Dongguan City are also summoning their strengths to expand industry-university research cooperation.
Through one such partnership, a new type of ultra-light helmet has been officially delivered to the country's national bobsleigh team.
"The weight reduction realized by this helmet is equivalent to a bottle and a half of mineral water. In addition to the light weight, impact resistance is also realized," said Li Nan, an associate professor at Dongguan University of Technology.
Output of high-tech fitness facilities surges in China amid rising enthusiasm towards sports
Long-standing challenges in Mexico's automotive industry have been exacerbated with the implementation of the U.S. tariff on imported cars, which took effect Thursday, fueling uncertainty and job losses.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on all imported automobiles.
Ciudad Juarez, one of Mexico's largest trade ports and a key manufacturing hub, is now facing even greater challenges as rising trade protectionism deepens existing pressures.
At a medal parts manufacturing factory that has been in operation for over 30 years, the workforce has drastically reduced from 60 workers to just 25 due to uncertainty about the future.
Even before the U.S. tariffs on imported cars took effect, mounting pressure had already begun to ripple through the industry, prompting many companies to suspend investment and procurement plans.
"Some 95 percent of the products exported from Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located, are industrial manufactured goods. We have held multiple meetings to discuss solutions. In fact, over the past year and a half, more than 55,000 factory workers here in the city have lost their jobs," said the owner of the factory.
The automotive industry is a key pillar of Mexico's economy, generating nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars in output. The auto parts assembly industry alone provides over 900,000 jobs for the country, while automotive assembly companies create 175,000 jobs.
According to statistics from the Mexican Association of Automotive Dealers (AMDA), over 40 percent of the components used by American auto manufacturers are imported from Mexico. Last year, Mexico produced four million cars, approximately three million of which were exported to the U.S.
Industry insiders indicate that due to the high degree of interdependence in the sector between the U.S. and Mexico, along with a shortage of skilled labor, the U.S. goal of bringing automotive manufacturing back to its shores through tariffs is unlikely to be realized in the short term.
Moreover, the established industrial chain in Mexico faces the risk of being disrupted, which will ultimately have repercussions on consumer spending and further exacerbate inflation in the long run.
"Young people from the U.S. are no longer willing to work in the manufacturing sector. I believe there will be no growth in the relocation of automotive parts and vehicles factories in the short term," said Guillermo Rosales Zarate, ADMA's executive president.
"Personally, I hope this avalanche of tariffs doesn't continue; otherwise, it will lead to more significant issues affecting the U.S. economy. If these tariffs remain in place long-term, it will be the American people who suffer the most," said Ricardo Ramos, a professor with the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez.
U.S. automotive tariffs deepen industry pressures, halt investments in Mexico
