Standing at the estuary of the Pearl River, the Canton Fair has gone through 70 years of extraordinary development. Alongside this foreign trade window, domestic export-oriented manufacturers have weathered successive market tests and continuously sought balance amid dynamic adjustments: flexibly adjusting business strategies to keep pace with policy and external changes while sticking to fundamental principles, gaining a foothold in global markets through technological accumulation and core competence.
On the 70th anniversary of the Canton Fair, this article sorts out three advanced pathways for enterprises expanding overseas. Firms shall consolidate their foundation with solid strength, build market resilience through flexible adaptation, and reinforce business foundations by guarding risk bottom lines. These measures support Chinese export-oriented manufacturers to forge ahead steadily and tap into overseas markets amid volatile global conditions.
Solid Strength: Taking Innovation as the Core Driver, Building Industrial Synergy via Chain-Based Global Expansion
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued *Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces*, which specifies arrangements for scientific and technological innovation as well as industrial innovation, requiring accelerated transformation of scientific and technological achievements into real productive forces. In the second phase of foreign trade competition, models relying merely on low-price competition and homogeneous products are no longer viable. Export-oriented manufacturers need to gradually discard labels such as “OEM” and “budget substitute”. By leveraging innovation to obtain technological discourse power, enterprises can shift core competitiveness from cost-performance advantages to technological breakthroughs and brand premium. In H1 2026, Midea Group’s OBM revenue in overseas smart home business exceeded 50%. For the first time, own-brand revenue outpaced OEM income and became the primary source of overseas revenue, marking a critical leap from simple product export to brand export.
Global industrial and supply chains are undergoing profound restructuring, which reshapes the way enterprises go global. Instead of individual firms fighting alone, industrial clusters pursue coordinated overseas expansion. Lead enterprises define products and build overseas sales channels, while supporting firms in upstream and downstream sectors perform their respective duties and cooperate closely. The automotive industry serves as a typical example. China exported 7.153 million complete vehicles from January to August 2026, representing a year-on-year increase of 66.7%. Behind this remarkable growth lies not only finished vehicle exports but also a chain-style global layout covering spare parts, charging infrastructure, after-sales service networks and local production systems.
International competition for electromechanical products is no longer limited to comparisons of individual performance indicators. Competition extends to full-lifecycle service capacity. Maintaining stable, secure and controllable industrial chains has become a decisive factor for enterprises winning overseas competition.
Flexible Adaptation: Prioritizing Transformation, Seizing Market Initiative by Responding to Changes
Rules governing international markets keep evolving. Higher green entry thresholds, scattered overseas purchasing demands and tightening compliance constraints bring severe tests to the risk resistance of Chinese foreign trade enterprises while unlocking abundant untapped overseas market potential.
Green low-carbon transition poses the most rigid regulatory challenge. The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) officially takes effect this year, covering six sectors: steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity. The State Council issued *The 15th Five-Year Plan for Carbon Peaking Action*, setting key tasks for industrial greening and low-carbon transition. A series of top-level plans clearly convey that green and low-carbon development is not an optional bonus item but a mandatory requirement for enterprises. China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, together with Shanghai Carbon Balance Technology, launched *Green Trade Public Service Platform*. It provides integrated digital services covering carbon labeling, carbon management and green trade compliance, laying a foundation for electromechanical products to obtain the “green pass” to enter international markets.
The scattered demand structure fuels numerous small yet promising projects. Previously, Chinese manufacturers mainly accepted bulk orders for overseas sales. In the new energy sector, overseas buyers no longer judge suppliers solely by the lowest quotation; they comprehensively evaluate system efficiency, scenario adaptability and long-term operation & maintenance value. Domestic enterprises including Zhejiang Jinnuo New Energy Technology supply integrated systems consisting of modules, inverters and energy storage equipment for rural households in the Philippines, island microgrids in Indonesia and off-grid villages in Africa. They convert scattered small orders into standardized, replicable product packages to cross the final barrier of foreign trade transformation.
Guarding Bottom Lines: Building Safeguards with Security, Ensuring Long-term Operation via Risk Management
The first layer of bottom-line management refers to compliance. *Provisions of the State Council on Overseas Investment* sets specific statutory requirements for Chinese enterprises to operate legally and fulfil social responsibilities in overseas investment for the first time. Zhejiang Faradi Group actively participates in the Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS power grid renovation projects. It supplies reliable power distribution equipment to developing countries including Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh to mitigate unstable power supply in remote regions and earn sound local reputation.
The second layer of bottom-line management concerns operational security. Overseas business environments carry far more complicated risks than domestic markets. Negligence in any link may escalate into enterprise-wide operational crises. Multiple publicly disclosed overseas liability incidents of Chinese firms remind market players that safety management shall not be confined to production and capital chains, but also cover labour management, environmental protection, data governance, public opinion handling and all other business dimensions.
The key to defending bottom lines is proactive risk management. At the enterprise level, organizations should establish a full-cycle risk assessment and emergency response framework, embedding compliance review, contingency plans and crisis handling into daily operations. At the national level, the Ministry of Commerce has released more than 36,000 risk alerts and overseas security notices since 2015, forming a protective shield for enterprises to prevent overseas risks.
Solid strength, flexible adaptation and bottom-line governance are interlinked and mutually supportive, forming a complete logic framework for Chinese manufacturers to explore global markets. Over 70 years, the Canton Fair has witnessed not only the continuous rise of foreign trade turnover, but also the profound transformation from “Made in China” to “Smart Manufacturing in China”, and from “Chinese Products” to “Chinese Solutions”.