As the Trump administration's tariff war hurts Chinese exports, a shoemaker in east China's Zhejiang province is adjusting its market strategy swiftly, shifting to other global markets to offset trade turmoil and challenges.
Zhang Wenjie, the founder of the shoe-making company based in Zhejiang's Wenzhou, revealed that he resolutely declined recently a U.S. client who exploited market conditions and asked for his products at half the price.
Zhang started his company in 1993 and now produces 10 million pairs of shoes annually with over 2,500 employees. Seventy percent of Zhang's business has been for export, with the U.S. as a traditional key market.
In recent years, the company has diversified to new markets, and the latest U.S. tariff hikes are pushing him to do more.
"Our orders from the U.S. have dropped by more than 30 percent, which will undoubtedly have an impact, but I believe this impact will be short-lived," Zhang said. "Just like in recent days, we've received substantial orders from Portugal and Spain."
The order from Portugal, worth over 20 million yuan (over 2.7 million U.S. dollars), helped buffer the blow to his operations and gave him new encouragement.
"We've established subsidiaries in Dubai and Russia. We are expanding into markets in Australia and Southeast Asia. It is an essentially part of our global strategy," Zhang explained.
Zhang and his team are preparing for the third phase of the 137th Canton Fair from May 1 to 5, where they hope to secure new orders and continue penetrating international markets.
Chinese shoemaker seeks foothold in alternative markets amid US tariffs
China closed 2025 with a record of 92 space launches and major breakthroughs were made in manned space launches, deep space exploration and commercial launches, according to the China National Space Administration.
"In 2025, we created a new launch record, sending more than 300 satellites into planned orbits. Both the number of launches and the number of payloads placed in orbit have achieved qualitative leapfrog development," said Zhu Haiyang, an engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
In 2025, the Shenzhou-20 crew spent 204 days in orbit, setting a new record for the longest single mission duration in the history of China's manned space program. Following the Shenzhou-20, the Shenzhou-21 achieved the fastest rendezvous and docking in the history of the Shenzhou mission in just three hours and a half.
Facing an unexpected technical situation with the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, China immediately activated emergency plans. Within 16 days, a series of maneuvers were accomplished including the launch of the Shenzhou-22 backup vehicle, presenting a "textbook model" for the international space community in effectively responding to unexpected emergencies.
In deep space exploration, the Tianwen-2 probe embarked on its journey for China's first asteroid exploration and sample-return mission in 2025.
Last year also saw intensive launch activities from multiple commercial rocket types, injecting strong momentum into the country's commercial space development.
As China has kicked off the first year of its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), a new blueprint for the country's space program is unfolding. Multiple tests are planned in preparation for future lunar exploration, as Chang'e-7 lunar probe is scheduled to be launched for the lunar south pole to search for evidence of water ice. The industry is also preparing for the maiden flights of several new rocket types, which will include the challenges to test rocket recovery and reusability technologies.
China closes 2025 with record 92 space launches
