The Spring Festival, a usual traditional time of reunion for most Chinese, has become a pivotal moment for foreign trade professionals eager to secure orders. During the nine-day holiday until Feb 24, some industry representatives travel abroad for exhibitions, while others stay in factories to ensure timely deliveries, all in pursuit of a successful start to the Year of the Horse.
The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, which fell on Feb 17 this year, is the most important traditional holiday for the Chinese people.
On the first day of the Chinese New Year, over 200 companies from China journeyed to the United States for exhibitions, marking one of the first waves of foreign trade teams actively seeking new opportunities in the new year.
A standout at an exhibition was a company from Changxing County, east China's Zhejiang Province, which showcased products that boast a 20 percent increase in efficiency and a 10 percent reduction in costs. The company was pleasantly surprised to attract numerous international clients.
"In just a few days, we not only closed many deals but also engaged with many interested clients," said Li Cheng, foreign trade manager of Zhejiang Huzhou Senfu Mechanical and Electrical Co., Ltd.
Domestic production facilities for overseas orders are also operating at full capacity during the holiday period. The global demand for artificial intelligence computing power continues to rise, driving an increased need for core electrical equipment such as transformers.
In Changzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, workers at a transformer factory are diligently working during the holiday period.
"Our orders exceed 3 billion yuan (about 434 million U.S. dollars), with export orders surpassing 2 billion yuan (about 289 million U.S. dollars). Our order backlog extends through the end of the year. To meet the project deadline and ensure timely delivery, we've continued some processes without stopping production during the Spring Festival," said Sun Lijun, executive deputy general manager of Jiangsu Huapeng Group Co., Ltd..
Data from China Unicom shows that the number of employees in national bonded zones increased rapidly starting on Feb 18, the second day of the Chinese New Year, with year-on-year growth of 6 percent. Provinces such as Henan, Guangdong, and Jiangsu are leading in both employee scale and growth rates within these zones.
Foreign trade logistics across many regions in China are also operating at full capacity.
As of Feb 20, the volume of international freight trains from Wuhan City, central China's Hubei Province, has risen by 55 percent compared to the same period last year.
"Cargo volume has surged recently, with many companies focusing their initial shipments during these few days. We need to dispatch an average of three trains per day. Through pre-checks, consolidated shipping, and coordinated operations of dual starting stations, we have shortened transport time by one to two days and reduced logistics costs by 15 percent," said Zhang Yupeng, manager of Shekou Business Department at the Wuhan Railway Bureau Logistics Center.
In Zhejiang Province, the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has maintained 24-hour, uninterrupted loading and unloading operations throughout the Spring Festival. From the first to the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, the port's container throughput exceeded 780,000 standard containers, surged 17 percent year on year.
"The volume of export containers has significantly increased in recent days. We ensure that machines are running while workers are taking time off. The first wave of post-holiday exports is focused, and customers are racing against time to secure shipping slots. We are committed to dispatching goods on time," said Zhou Dehai, operations manager at the Ningbo Beilun Third Container Terminal Co., Ltd.
Chinese foreign trade companies continue uninterrupted operations during Spring Festival
