We discuss the positive news that as of Wednesday, March 15th 2023, China is reopening its borders to all foreign travellers! Due to Covid China was pretty inaccessible to most travellers since March 2020, so after 3 years we finally … [Read more...]
2022 Review: The Key Stories for Importers from China/Asia
QualityInspection author and Sofeast Group CEO, Renaud Anjoran, and Adrian from the Sofeast team look back at 2022's key news stories and topics that have affected importers with supply chains in China and other Asian countries. What's … [Read more...]
What Does a Re-Opened China (Without Quarantine) Mean for Foreign Business?
After years of fighting to keep covid outside of China, the surge in infections in October and November forced Beijing to choose between enormous lockdowns and the abandonment of the 'zero covid' strategy. They opted for the latter, under … [Read more...]
Zero Covid in China is over: What next?
Following unprecedented protests across China, the government has been rapidly dropping its flagship 'Zero Covid' policy as of the start of December 2022. While a return to normalcy in China may come as welcome news to locals and visitors … [Read more...]
China Massive Lockdowns (March 22): The Domino Effect In Full Force
China is fighting tooth and nail to contain the current wave of covid infections. And this is going to be a long and painful battle. Most people I talked to do not believe Beijing will change its "covid zero" objective anytime soon. They … [Read more...]
5 Difficulties Importers Are Currently Faced With When Preparing For 2022 [Podcast]
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In this episode… The coronavirus pandemic has caused a number of difficulties for importers with Chinese or Asian suppliers. Lack of visibility over suppliers, lockdowns, increased supply chain risks, sea freight delays and very high costs … [Read more...]
China’s Factories Are On A Wartime Footing Due To Covid. How Does This Affect You?
As we reach August 2021 the highly infectious coronavirus delta variant has infiltrated the country despite China’s stringent pandemic control measures. Importers may remember the disruption caused by China’s strict national lockdown … [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 … [Read more...]
Requirements To Import PPE: You Need To Go Beyond Certificates
There is a serious emergency right now to procure and import PPE. I know. Manufacturers are overloaded with requests from buyers, and they can't (won't) spend much time responding to requests. I know! Nearly all the importers I talked … [Read more...]
Verifying Certificates for Masks, Gloves, and Other PPE from China
These days, it seems everybody has jumped on the same 'PPE' bandwagon. In China, hundreds (maybe thousands) of manufacturers have seized this opportunity. Many of them have zero experience in the medical field, or in any regulated … [Read more...]