2020 has been a tough year for so many reasons: The COVID-19 pandemic, the continuing US/China trade war, the drive to exit China for some manufacturers, a global recession beginning, and more. But what effect has this had on the relationship between foreign importers and their Chinese suppliers? To find out, we sent a survey to both our Sofeast and QualityInspection.org readers to assess the state of manufacturing in China in 2020. The results were eye-opening... … [Read more...]
Will China Lock Entire Provinces Down A Second Time in 2020?
In early February, I was wondering what effects the lockdown of China would have on importers. And, a few weeks later, importers suffered another (often more violent) blow: stores closed for months, a lot of unsold inventory, and weak demand across many product categories. … [Read more...]
COVID-19: What Are The 7 Major Risks for Importers of China Goods?
As an importer, you are probably wondering how the COVID-19 epidemic in China is going to impact your business. Beijing says things are rapidly improving and hints that the situation will nearly be back to normal on the coasts by the end of February. They are still planning to hold the Canton fair. Let's all hope they are right. Let's hope there is no relapse (the epidemic starting again in certain cities) in the coming months. The situation is still far from clear. In the meantime, … [Read more...]
Diverging Views on the China Virus Outbreak: Whom To Listen To?
Some medical experts in Hong Kong have devoted their careers to the study of micro microbiology and viruses, after the traumatic episode of SARS. These are the people I will tend to listen to, on this topic. For example, Yeung Kwok Yung and Gabriel Leung. And these Hong Kong specialists project the evolution of the infection in a way no Western newspaper (who mostly take the official government numbers at face value) dares to relate, it seems. … [Read more...]
New Importer from China? Beware the Credulous Foreigner Syndrome!
After about 40 years of openness, and about 15 years of 'direct trade' without Hong Kong trading companies, one might expect that foreign buyers take more precautions when dealing with Chinese suppliers. And, to be sure, some buyers do pay attention to risks. They have heard a few horror stories. They have read about common misconceptions, typical pitfalls, assumptions to avoid, and best practices for supply chain management. Unfortunately, it seems that a majority of people who haven't … [Read more...]
How To Fight Back Against Fake Goods In China Trade Shows
For all the talk about improvements in China's intellectual property protection, many importers are still facing very unethical behavior from their supplier base. And nowhere is it more apparent than in trade shows. The temptation for suppliers to show a customer's innovative product is often too strong. So, how to fight back against fake goods in China trade shows? … [Read more...]
Beware of this China Scam: The Commodity Bait and Switch
We are contacted regularly by overseas buyers who are about to purchase a commodity product from a Chinese manufacturer, and it is nearly always a very risky situation for the buyer as switching out an order of commodities to a cheaper commodity at the last minute is an all too common China scam. … [Read more...]
China Still Best For New & Complex Manufacturing Projects
Steve Dickinson wrote an article (Moving Manufacturing from China: Where you Gonna Run?) that got me thinking about complex manufacturing projects and China. He outlines the main reasons why China became "the factory of the world" so quickly (especially from 1992 to 2005), for small and large buyers alike. Other low-cost Asian countries are now trying to emulate these results and attract manufacturing, and they seem to focus on lower tax rates. Here are two recent articles I found on this … [Read more...]
Effects Of The US-China Trade War On Manufacturing Relocations
A few days ago, I shared an article entitled Are Manufacturers Really Leaving China? The China Perspective on Linkedin. David Collins, the author, wrote: Right now, a full-scale exodus is more talk than anything else; it is too early to tell with any degree of certainty what exactly will happen. But, numerous companies have signalled that they are exploring the option of leaving but have not pulled up stakes yet. This post generated a number of excellent comments, some of which I reproduced … [Read more...]
9 Consequences of the Upcoming US-China Trade War
Based on all the articles I have read about the current geopolitical situation, I am not optimistic about the affect of the US-China trade war on American importers. Dan Harris, who wrote "the US-China Cold War start now," announced that a "mega-storm" might be coming, and he may be right. Now, if things turn out as bad as predicted, and if tariffs apply on more goods imported from China to the US -- and at higher rates -- what does it mean for US importers? … [Read more...]
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