The fruit trade between China and ASEAN countries, the country's largest source of imported fruits, has been flourishing in recent years, driven by intelligent technologies and improved logistics.
In Nanning City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Wuming District has been cultivating orah mandarins, an orange-mandarin hybrid fruit, since 2012. Now the district has become one of China's largest fruit producers, contributing one fifth of the national output of the fruit.
Many farmers like Lu Ailian lease their land to orchard companies and earn wages by working in the fields during harvest season.
"I can easily harvest dozens of bags each day. The fruits are in great shape, thanks to good fertilization, soil, and skills," said Lu.
With 1.5 million tons of orah mandarins to hit the market annually, a significant portion is destined for overseas markets. After six years of cultivating demand, 60 percent of these mandarins now go to Southeast Asia. The region's orah mandarin industry generates over 1.4 billion U.S. dollars annually.
To speed up post-harvest sorting, local orchard owners have deployed robotic systems. As oranges pass through a visual recognition system, each fruit is photographed and analyzed for size, sugar content, and defects, ensuring they are matched to the right markets at corresponding prices.
"Initially, Chinese fruits struggled to enter mainstream supermarkets in Europe, America, and even Southeast Asia. We mostly dealt with wholesale markets, because many clients' impression of China was still stuck in the 1990s. But in fact, we've adopted advanced business and industrial concepts, and modernized the entire agricultural supply chain," said Ji Sufeng, chairman of the board at Mingming Orchard Group.
Upgrades in border infrastructure have further boosted trade. At Guangxi's western land border with Vietnam, a new port will provide 24-hour, unmanned, intelligent customs clearance.
Meanwhile, on Guangxi's southern coast, new ocean freight routes are accelerating the flow of Southeast Asian produce into China.
"We have launched seven fruit express lines to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand and Vietnam. In 2024, fruit trade grew over 26 percent year on year. With RCEP and the new land-sea corridor for trade, domestic demand for tropical fruits continues to rise. We will continue to enhance services, add routes, and help develop cold chain facilities," said Qin Zhenqiang, deputy general manager of the Production Business Department at Beibu Gulf Port.
New container routes have made previously distant and costly fruits, including Musang durians from Malaysia, more accessible to Chinese consumers.
"Durians from Raub used to take a detour via Kuala Lumpur and the Strait of Malacca. The new route cuts shipping time by two days. Frozen durians are shipped using liquid nitrogen. They stay fresh for longer, and reach more consumers," said Wei Xia, deputy general manager of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Port Logistics.
Booming China-ASEAN fruit trade fueled by smart tech, improved logistics
From cutting-edge technology exhibitions to retail stores thousands of kilometers away from Europe and Southeast Asia, China-made robot vacuum cleaners are increasingly becoming a popular choice among consumers worldwide.
At electronics retailers in Berlin, Germany, Chinese brands such as Roborock and Dreame occupy prominent positions in dedicated robot vacuum sections, offering a wide range of products priced between 200 and 2,000 euros.
Many local consumers said that when purchasing smart home appliances including robot vacuum cleaners, they tend to give priority to Chinese-made products.
"It's a good price and good quality. It's also the innovation. I have a feeling that the European brands are not innovating enough," said one customer.
"I think they're always on top of the other technologies. They are getting them out faster. A lot of us are switching to the Chinese technology," another consumer said.
Germany is one of the most important overseas markets for China's floor-cleaning robots.
According to data from market research firm GfK, from January to November 2025, more than six out of 10 robot vacuum cleaners sold in Western Europe were Chinese brands.
Industry data also point to a strong global momentum.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), global shipments of smart robot vacuum cleaners reached 17.424 million units in the first three quarters of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.7 percent.
Chinese brands including Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi and Narwal ranked among the world's top five in terms of shipment volume, with a combined share of nearly 70 percent of the global market.
At a robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing plant in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, workers were seen stepping up production of newly launched models that recently debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in the United States, which concluded Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The factory adjusted its production lines as early as December 2025 and stocked inventory in advance for overseas markets to ensure that new products could be delivered to global consumers at the earliest possible time.
"In 2025, Roborock's global shipments exceeded 7.2 million units. Since 2024, overseas revenue has accounted for more than 50 percent of our total revenue. Our products have now been sold to more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than 20 million households worldwide," said Quan Gang, president of Roborock.
At another robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing facility in Dongguan, Guangdong, rising overseas orders have prompted the company to upgrade its production lines with intelligent technologies to further boost capacity. The factory is currently operating at full load to meet a growing demand.
"For 2026, we have already obtained overseas orders worth at least 300 million to 400 million yuan (around 43 million to 57.3 million U.S. dollars). In addition, we've engaged in strategic cooperation with European home appliance group Cebos Group, and our total confirmed orders have exceeded 600 million yuan (around 86 million U.S. dollars)," said Zhang Junbin, founder and CEO of Narwal Robotics.
Chinese robot vacuum brands gain strong global traction
