Chop knives, saws, blades, gun nails, iron fences, motorcycle accessories… Recently, when walking into Dazu District of Chongqing, known as the “Hardware Capital of Western China”, all kinds of hardware products are dizzying.
“This is the peak season for our goods to go overseas.” Chen Mingyou, the person in charge of Chongqing Mingyou Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd., said that he has been engaged in saw export for more than 10 years. The band saws, hand saws, branch saws, “coffee saws” (tools for taking care of coffee trees) and other products he produces are exported to Russia, Turkey, Indonesia and other places, with annual sales exceeding 20 million yuan.
Li Ke, president of the Chongqing Dazu District Internet Business Association and head of the Dazu District Cross-border E-commerce Service Center, said that the Dazu hardware industry “went global” earlier. In the early days, it mainly relied on exports from foreign trade companies, with a single channel and a small scale.
In recent years, more and more companies have broadened their channels and expanded their scale by building their own websites and entering cross-border e-commerce platforms.
“Going overseas not only brings us orders, but also deepens our understanding of overseas markets.” Guo Shichuan, head of the e-commerce department of Chongqing Deng’s Kitchenware Manufacturing Co., Ltd., said that at present, the overseas orders received by the company have high unit prices and high profit margins.
The spread of Chinese catering culture overseas has also contributed to the promotion of kitchenware and other hardware products.
On social platforms such as Xiaohongshu and TikTok, “foreigners cook Chinese food” and “I have a Chinese stomach” are becoming hot words. Wang Yibei, a 26-year-old Chongqing girl, is determined to “bring traditional Chinese food to the UK” and her account has hundreds of thousands of fans.
Guo Shichuan said that many overseas customers reported that they were “planted” by social platforms and placed orders.
“Driven by cross-border e-commerce, manufacturers’ innovation has further accelerated.” Li Ke said that through cross-border e-commerce platforms, manufacturers can directly obtain feedback from global consumers, thereby conducting product development and innovation more accurately.
According to Guo Shichuan, the “Serbian Slicing Knife” designed by the company based on customer needs has been widely welcomed by the market.
In addition, through the data analysis function of the cross-border e-commerce platform, merchants can accurately understand the needs of different regions and adjust product strategies.
For example, some businesses have introduced anti-rust building hardware products in response to the hot and rainy summers in Southeast Asia; in response to the agricultural production needs of the African market, they have increased their efforts to promote durable agricultural tools.
“We make woodworking planers, and in the early years we mainly targeted factory customers. In recent years, household customers have grown more.” Luo Huilun, the person in charge of Chongqing Xiangfeng Tool Manufacturing Co., Ltd. analyzed that this is related to foreigners’ preference for outdoor sports and handicrafts.
The integration of the hardware industry and cross-border e-commerce has also given rise to new professions such as cross-border e-commerce operations specialists and cross-border logistics specialists.
Xie Feng, a “post-90s” cross-border e-commerce operations specialist, said that she is mainly responsible for the daily operations, product promotion, customer service, etc. of the platform store. With the blessing of translation software, this job does not require too high foreign language requirements.
Hu Yankun, dean of the Business School of Chongqing City Vocational College, said that in order to serve Dazu Hardware and other “Chongqing products going overseas”, the college has set up a professional group for related affairs and foreign trade services, and through an innovative “job-specific class” talent training model, customized training of foreign trade talents such as e-commerce engineers, customs affairs engineers and freight forwarders.
Zhao Lijun, a professor at Chongqing College of Arts and Sciences, said that in response to the relevant technical skills needs of enterprises, the college has opened professional courses such as e-commerce logistics and intelligent manufacturing.
The 2025 work report of the Dazu District People’s Government mentioned that it will establish a basic database of foreign trade entities and plan new business formats such as “market procurement +” overseas warehouses and overseas exhibitions to help the development of the industry.
