Reference News Network, October 23 report: According to the website of the New York Times in the United States on October 21, as the trade conflict between the world's two economic superpowers escalated again, China has sent a clear signal that it is ready to fight.

The report said that Beijing believes it still has another trump card: its thriving manufacturing industry. Even facing high tariffs from the United States, China's manufacturing industry is helping maintain economic growth.

In Yiwu City, this strength is demonstrated to the fullest. Vendors selling goods such as toys, home electronics and drones have crowded the commercial complexes spanning multiple blocks. Recently, Yiwu unveiled a trade center, a large facility covering an area equivalent to hundreds of football fields that can accommodate numerous exporters, "showcasing China's hard-core manufacturing power."

Like many vendors in Yiwu, Gong Hao (pinyin) used to sell plastic Hawaiian flower necklaces, party streamers and rabbit ear decorations to American customers. This year, he lost his American clients but gained new buyers in Europe and Southeast Asia. He said, "American customers don't affect us much."

With the help of the government, China's manufacturing industry is also undergoing a structural transformation in the economic field. The impact of this transformation is spreading around the world as China sells more products to more markets.

Fiona Zhou (pinyin)’s rubber chickens, ducks and other squeeze toys have nearly a quarter of their sales going to the United States. Her company delivered the entire year's orders to American importers in July and August this year, she said, and gave her customers a 5% discount to ease the pressure of cost increases caused by tariffs. Now, Ms. Zhou is exporting these once-popular American market products to Southeast Asia and South Africa.

Christopher Biddle, vice director of the China Research Department at Longzou Economic Information Consulting Company, said, "China's exports are becoming more competitive than those of many other countries."

According to data released by the General Administration of Customs last week, China's exports reached $328.6 billion in September, achieving the fastest growth in six months. While exports to the US declined, exports to other regions almost all increased. There is still strong demand for highly competitive Chinese goods in overseas markets.

Another report from the website of the New York Times on October 21 stated that at present, President Trump of the United States is trying to keep China out of the American market through a series of capricious tariff measures. However, China's exports are not decreasing but increasing, although this time, the export destinations have shifted to other parts of the world.

The report said that during this process, the journalists have always had doubts: who exactly is buying so many Chinese goods?

During a recent visit to China, the journalist took a train to Yiwu, known as the "Capital of Small Commodities in the World." The journalist interacted with buyers and sellers at Yiwu's trade center. One of them was Roda Ngelembi, a business owner from Tanzania. She shared her personal experience, providing another perspective on understanding this question.

According to the report, 26-year-old Ngelembi started selling electrical appliances and tableware in Dar es Salaam, a port city in Tanzania, a few years ago. Initially, she relied on intermediaries to procure supplies, but later, her agents told her, "You should go to China, where there are countless opportunities." In 2023, she decided to visit China herself. This is already her seventh trip to China.

Now, Ngelembi not only runs her own business but also places orders for people in Tanzania, effectively becoming an intermediary. She purchases and sells while taking TikTok videos. Not only do locals, but also customers from Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo contact her via TikTok, specifying certain products they need, which she then purchases and delivers to them.

Ngelembi's company mainly sells handbags, clothing, and jewelry to customers in Tanzania and other African countries.

She said that the business is quite good, and she believes her future career will grow bigger and bigger, making her increasingly wealthy, all thanks to China, because there are endless opportunities here.

About the impact of the U.S.-China trade war on business opportunities, Ngelembi said, of course, there have been changes, and the changes have been especially significant. The Chinese market is like this, every time I come, I see something new. The African market and here are too different, even the quality of the goods is very different. Many Africans like cheap goods, and the prices here are very affordable. (Translated by Wu Mei, Yang Xuelai)

Exterior view of the Yiwu International Trade City, Block 1, taken on October 14. (Xinhua News Agency)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7564244185705726515/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Welcome to express your opinion by clicking the [Upvote/Downvote] buttons below.