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 changed and will we see the same in 2023? Covid has continued to be problematic in China for numerous reasons, even now that the Zero Covid policy has been dropped, the Russian invasion has the world nervously looking at China's actions towards Taiwan, the USA … [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 pressure from the population. Nearly all restrictions have been removed by the government. As a result, over the past couple of weeks, a gigantic wave has hit a good chunk of the population. Let's look at what a newly opened China without quarantine and … [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 alike, the road to get there will no doubt be bumpy. A largely unvaccinated public with little exposure to the virus now sees rising cases around China, similar to the difficult situation the rest of the world had to navigate in 2020 and 2021. So what does … [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 recently adapted it a bit to "dynamic zero", but the objective remains zero. In short, there are outbreaks all along the East coast, and hyper-connected megacities like Changchun (in the Northeast, home to very large VW production facilities) and Shanghai … [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 requiring very advanced booking, a global electronic component shortage, and a USD/RMB exchange rate that isn't ideal right now, are the topics under discussion in this episode. If these are affecting you, Renaud's views will be … [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 around early 2020 when the epidemic became very severe in Hubei province. Global supply chains still haven’t recovered despite China’s manufacturing sector bouncing back quickly, not least because sea freight initially revised down their estimates on required … [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...]
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 to were concerned about the manufacturers' formal authorization to sell PPE and medical gear on their market. But very few wanted to go deeper than that. However, as you buy products that are actually intended to save lives, should you throw all proper due … [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 industry for that matter. And, all over the world, buyers are looking for personal protective equipment (PPE) and related medical products. Again, a minority of them have a full understanding of the implications of what they are getting into. The … [Read more...]
9 Reasons Why You Can’t Buy Face Masks with Low Risk in China
The Western world is scrambling to buy face masks and other PPE materials. And all the conditions are met for highly expensive mistakes. If I could ring the proverbial alarm bell, this article is my way to do that. … [Read more...]