As the Year of the Dragon began, a wave of business rejuvenation swept across China.
To gauge the economic pulse, I explored various companies in Guangdong, renowned as the foreign trade hub, engaging in conversations over tea with business personnel to understand the recent developments and aspirations. To my surprise, I encountered extended waiting times for my appointments.
Despite the early stage of the year, numerous business managers have been either out of the province or abroad attending business meetings and conferences.
"I've been incredibly busy lately. I am either attending exhibitions or traveling to visit clients," said Li Yongtai, a business manager and an acquaintance of mine.Frequent business travel has become commonplace once again among business people in the foreign trade sector, according to Wei Wenwu, director of sales at an electronics company. He noted that he visited around 20 countries and regions in 2023.
Amidst international geopolitical turbulence and a global economic downturn, the challenges faced by foreign trade companies in Guangdong in recent years are greater than before.
Shrinking orders and reduced earnings are pushing some factories to the brink of closure, especially in a province renowned for manufacturing and foreign trade.
In such a challenging environment, sales teams should proactively focus on retaining existing customers and exploring lucrative markets, said Xing Xuehong, who works for an international freight agency. "Going out opens the door to discovering more opportunities."
As a fundamental strategy of China's reform and opening-up policy, "going global" has become a widely adopted approach for enterprises to expand sales and explore global markets.
Companies are also striving to enhance their product quality and competitiveness through technological research and development.
At Guangzhou International Bio Island, a gathering of the city's biomedical science companies and labs, I had the opportunity to ride a self-driving bus developed by WeRide, an autonomous driving company headquartered in Guangzhou.
During the 20-minute ride, the bus demonstrated its features by strictly adhering to traffic light signals and promptly responding to pedestrians crossing the road. Outfitted with advanced technologies like radar, motion sensors, cameras, etc., it seems well-prepared to operate effectively in bustling city centers.