Foreign trade companies in the coastal Chinese provinces of Shandong and Guangdong are expanding into diversified international markets to secure and even increase their order volumes despite a complex external environment and the challenges presented by U.S. tariffs.
A shoe-making company in Wenshang County, east China's Shandong Province, is busy preparing to ship 30,000 pairs of sports shoes to Europe.
The U.S. market has historically accounted for nearly 30 percent of the company's export orders, so the tariffs did cause delivery challenges for many orders. Nevertheless, the company has managed to increase its overall order volume despite these difficulties.
"We have expanded into more than a dozen international markets, including Australia, Turkey, Singapore, and Malaysia, achieving a 25-percent increase in overseas orders. Meanwhile, by tapping into domestic market potential and meeting local consumer demand, we have grown our domestic market share by 15 percent, significantly reducing our over-reliance on external markets," said Du Ji, the company's production manager.
The company has also developed differentiated products tailored to the specific needs of different markets. This year, its newly launched anti-static and anti-slip products have won favor in the European Union market thanks to their advanced technology.
In Zhongshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, an appliance company is experiencing strong demand for its portable toaster ovens, with customers urgently requesting faster deliveries.
"Orders from customers for April, May, and June may continue to decrease, and in this regard, our U.S. customers are actually more eager to push the orders forward than we are," said Liang Ruiji, deputy general manager of the company.
Responding to emerging challenges in foreign trade, the local commerce department in Zhongshan has implemented a series of policies to stabilize foreign trade and drive growth, helping enterprises secure new orders and expand into new markets.
In the first quarter of this year, Zhongshan's total foreign trade import and export value reached 68.95 billion yuan (around 9.56 billion U.S. dollars), marking a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent.
Foreign trade firms in China boost orders by expanding overseas markets
Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of London on Saturday, marching from Westminster to the U.S. embassy to deliver a clear message to the United States and Israel -- stop the war in Iran.
Chanting slogans and carrying banners reading "Stop bombing Iran" and "No war on Iran", demonstrators condemned what they described as unlawful military aggression that they say threatens regional stability and civilian lives.
"What Trump is doing from his base in America -- trying to rule the world. And I think it's disgusting and it's dangerous. It's killing. It's going to kill tens of thousands of people across the Middle East, and it'll have huge ramifications across the world," said a protester in an interview with China Global Television Network.
"I think that Trump and Netanyahu's obvious attempts to push regime change are unacceptable. And it's ultimately the Iranian people and people across the Middle East, normal people, who are going to suffer the most in this war," said another.
The United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks against Iran on Feb. 28, which resulted in the deaths of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, several of his family members and multiple senior Iranian military commanders.
Iran said on Friday evening that since the fighting began, at least 1,332 civilians have been killed, with thousands of others injured.
"A completely immoral, groundless act of aggression, another war crime against Iran," said a third protester.
"They are going in, they're bombing people indiscriminately. Over 160 school children have been killed for no good reason," another protester said, referring to the U.S.-Israeli airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, southern Iran.
Initially, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the United States couldn't use any British bases for military actions in the Middle East. But he later rolled back on his words, saying that the U.S. can use certain bases as long as it is for defensive actions only.
The protesters don't think he has gone far enough. They said that this is an illegal action and should be stopped immediately.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a live broadcast statement on Saturday that Israel's attack on Iran will continue with "full force and uncompromising momentum."
Israel has a well-prepared plan with many surprises to undermine "Iranian regime" and "enable change," Netanyahu said.
Thousands march in London to demand halt to US-Israeli strikes on Iran
Thousands march in London to demand halt to US-Israeli strikes on Iran
