“As soon as I opened the official website, I found that our product had become a hit, and the whole family was very excited.” Yang Yuan recalled that his product became a hit for the first time, and he still couldn’t hide his excitement.
As the “second generation” of Guangzhou Belt Street, Yang Yuan took over the belt business that was on the verge of closing down from his parents five years ago. Five years later, with the help of the east wind of sailing to the sea, hundreds of villagers were transformed and together they achieved sales of over 100 million.
Thousands of years of business have continued, and a new chapter of Guangzhou Huo has begun.
At the moment when the digital trade wave is surging, the new Guangdong goods created by the ingenuity of thousands of “Yang Yuan” are sailing out to sea with a brand-new attitude, leading the new national trend.
From the rise of cross-border e-commerce platforms, to the dazzling appearance of international exhibitions, to the global layout of local brands, the story of Guangdong’s national trend going overseas is being heard by the world.
Cross-border e-commerce empowerment: Flexible manufacturing reshapes the “Cantonese goods gene”
In the wave of Guangzhou goods going global, Guangdong’s “second generation factories” are taking over the baton of traditional manufacturing from their parents. With an international vision and digital thinking, they have become a key force in revitalizing old factories and connecting to the global market.
The story of Yang Yuan on Belt Street in Guangzhou is a vivid epitome of this profound transformation.
Five years ago, the belt stall business run by Yang Yuan’s parents was on the verge of closing down.
Five years later, standing in his busy workshop, Yang Yuan witnessed the constant flow of packages sent overseas.
The turning point of fate began with the association with the cross-border e-commerce platform SHEIN.
From the monthly sales of a few thousand yuan when they first tested the waters, to more than 100,000 yuan three months later, the belt business of the Yang Yuansan siblings not only gave the family business a new lease of life, but also led hundreds of households to transform together, creating annual sales of over 100 million yuan.
This is not only a story of personal wealth, but also a typical example of Guangdong’s traditional manufacturing industry exploring new channels in the digital age.
In the past, manufacturers like Yang Yuan’s parents mostly relied on offline orders from trade cities, with weak bargaining power and a passive model.
The rigid production model of “one model for one season and tens of thousands of orders at a time” is extremely risky in today’s rapidly changing market demand.
The “small order, quick response” flexible supply chain model advocated by SHEIN has opened the door for Guangzhou Huo, which is deeply rooted in the industrial belt, to directly face global consumers and achieve digital transformation of on-demand production.
The changes extend far beyond the sales side.
Xu Fan, a hatter who also used SHEIN to go overseas, has experienced the ultimate leap from a 21-day production cycle to a 3-day delivery by splitting production units and introducing smart equipment.
As the team expanded, factory efficiency increased sevenfold.
The construction of this flexible manufacturing capability enables Guangdong Manufacturing to respond to global trends with amazing speed and flexibility.
Through the platform’s clear digital system, Yang Yuan can grasp daily sales, investment and delivery data in real time, and quickly design and flexibly schedule production based on instant feedback from overseas consumers.
This data-driven capability is becoming the core competitiveness of the new generation of Guangdong manufacturing.
The craze for going overseas is surging, and its radiation effect has profoundly affected Guangdong’s economic and social texture.
Cross-border e-commerce represented by SHEIN is helping to promote the world of goods and is driving Guangdong’s transformation from demographic dividend to talent dividend.
The most intuitive manifestation is the expansion and upgrading of the job market.
The cross-border e-commerce ecosystem not only requires traditional production line workers, but also creates a large number of emerging positions such as cross-border operations, data selection, digital marketing, and customer service in small languages.
A cross-border women’s clothing company with annual sales of 600 million yuan in the Pearl River Delta even offered a million-dollar annual salary to senior selectors, but still lamented that “a general is hard to find.”
The Guangdong Provincial Government has keenly grasped this trend and plans to vigorously promote the cross-border e-commerce + industrial belt model, create 30 advantageous industrial belts and cultivate 300 key enterprises within three years.
At the same time, relying on the three major e-commerce development poles of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and eastern Guangdong, the province’s 21 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones have been comprehensively upgraded.
This combination of government guidance, platform empowerment, and industrial collaboration has paved a digital silk road to the global market for thousands of Guangdong goods.
Taking advantage of the Canton Fair: Intelligent manufacturing of Cantonese goods appears on the world stage
As the “wind vane” and “barometer” of China’s foreign trade, the Canton Fair has always been an important platform for Cantonese goods to go overseas.
The grand occasion of the 138th Canton Fair also confirmed the strong momentum of Cantonese goods going overseas.
该届展会吸引来自 223 个国家和地区的超 31 万名境外采购商，较上届增长 7.5%，再创历史新高。
Among them, buyers from countries jointly building the “Belt and Road” accounted for 69%, and buyers from the European Union, the Middle East, the United States, and Brazil increased significantly.
On-site intended export transactions amounted to US$25.65 billion, and export transactions with co-building countries accounted for over 60%.
This confirms the diversified expansion of “Guangzhou goods” overseas channels and the increasingly profound market foundation.
In the exhibition hall, “Cantonese goods” driven by cutting-edge technology are reshaping the perception of global buyers.
In front of Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology’s intelligent moxibustion robot, an international buyer pointed to the flexible robotic arm and exclaimed: “This feels amazing, just like a doctor operating it!” Equipment equipped with Nova collaborative robots accurately simulates traditional moxibustion techniques and has become the focus of the field of service robots.
In front of the booth of Yuanhua Intelligent Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., a shocking live surgery video attracted the audience to stop. On the screen, in the operating room of the People’s Hospital of Naqubi County, Tibet, Yuanhua Intelligent’s independently developed Kuntilium® total orthopedic surgical robot is assisting doctors in completing knee replacement surgery in a plateau environment at an altitude of 4,000 meters.
Such innovative products that combine cutting-edge technology and practical functions have become a new force for “Guangzhou goods” to compete in the international market.
British buyer Matthew Mayvers, a Cantonese veteran with 20 years of global exhibition experience, described the experience as “incredible”.
Matthew admitted that this experience refreshed his knowledge.
He added with a smile: “I have reduced my participation in the fair since the birth of my child. This is the first time I have returned to the Canton Fair in five years. The prosperity of the exhibition hall exceeded expectations. What is even more surprising is that the five or six core suppliers I have been cooperating with are gathered here. This Canton Fair has achieved true one-stop purchasing.” His experience revealed the irreplaceable value of the Canton Fair as a key hub of the global supply chain.
Javier Sirvent from Spain was shocked by the technological power of Chinese manufacturing when he first set foot on Chinese soil.
He praised, “Although I have worked in important trade fields in other countries, I was very shocked by the technological level of this Canton Fair. Everything here, the technology and the people are amazing and amazing. You can’t find this kind of experience anywhere else in the world.”
From the Canton Fair exhibition hall on the banks of the Pearl River to consumer terminals around the world, “Cantonese goods” are winning the world’s trust with cutting-edge innovation, reliable quality and efficient connections.
It is worth mentioning that the Guangzhou Municipal Commerce Bureau recently stated at the press conference of “Guangzhou Goods Go Worldwide, the Best Taste of the Year in Guangzhou” that this year, Guangzhou will organize companies to participate in overseas exhibitions, use the Canton Fair platform, cross-border e-commerce assistance, etc. to promote Cantonese goods go global and sail into the “new blue ocean” of world trade.
IP Going Global: The Cultural Breakthrough Power of Trendy Toys
In Siam Square in Bangkok, Thailand, a yellow “Muay Thai Dun Dun Chicken” plush doll attracts young people to line up to check in. This original IP from Miniso combines traditional Thai boxing elements, with Muay Thai straps wrapped around the gloves, and the fighting posture integrated into the round figure. Now it has transcended the scope of commodities and has become a symbol of cultural exchanges between China and Thailand.
In the MINISO store on Oxford Street in London, international superstar Madonna walked out of the store carrying several large bags of goods, with the trendy “Carrot Street” figure revealed in the shopping bags.
Paris Hilton spent US$4,000 at the Los Angeles flagship store, and her shopping list also included “Carrot Street” and other Cantonese products.
The “tap water” effect of these international superstars has triggered phenomenal spread on social media.
These seemingly accidental moments are the epitome of Guangdong’s national trend of going overseas.
From European and American superstars to Southeast Asian youths, cultural symbols made in Guangdong are penetrating the global consumer market at an unprecedented speed.
Miniso, which started in Guangzhou, has now spread all over the world.
It is reported that Miniso currently has more than 8,000 stores around the world, covering 112 countries and regions.
From Times Square in New York and the Champs Elysées in Paris to the 3,000-square-meter global flagship store in Central Park in Jakarta, MINISO signs with “Guangzhou genes” are entering world-class business districts in batches.
The profound foundation of Guangdong’s export of goods to overseas markets lies in the agile innovation and quality support of Guangdong manufacturing.
Data shows that among Miniso’s nearly 2,000 supply chain partners around the world, 70% are from Guangdong Province.
The relevant person in charge of Miniso told reporters, “The Guangdong supply chain is the core support of our business, which greatly satisfies the requirements of Miniso IP.
The design, production and supply needs of trendy products.
Real-time feedback of global consumer insights to the Guangdong supply chain, joint research and development, rapid prototyping and iteration, ensuring that Guangzhou products have both creative design, high quality and ultimate cost performance, accurately matching international market demand, and building product competitiveness from the source.”
What truly allows Guangzhou products to achieve value leap and cultural penetration is the brand ecological operation with IP as the core.
“We are not just introducing international IP, but also focusing on incubating trendy IP that carries local genes.” said the relevant person in charge of Miniso, which has built an ecological matrix including 16 contracted artist IPs and more than 180 of the world’s top co-branded IPs.
Taking Guangdong’s original IP “Milk Dragon” as an example, by entering Miniso’s 57 overseas market stores around the world, leveraging massive users and strong content marketing, it has gained more than 100 million social media exposures in Southeast Asia, enhancing the global influence of Lingnan IP and Guangzhou products.
“We are ushering in a golden age of Chinese IP.” Ye Guofu, founder of Miniso, said that in the next ten years, 100 Chinese IPs will be led to the world.
When a belt becomes the carrier of Chinese aesthetics, when intelligent robots refresh the understanding of international buyers, and when trendy IPs become cultural ambassadors, the export of Guangdong goods overseas has transcended the scope of pure trade.
Empowered by the digital economy, this millennium-old business line is taking on a new lease of life, using flexible manufacturing to match global demand, and knocking on the door to the world with cultural confidence – from “going goods abroad” to “going culture overseas”, a new high-quality development path is extending at the crest of the wave.
