Tariff cuts fuel foreign order growth in GD

Foreign trade companies in Guangdong Province are ramping up production following the announcement that China and the U.S. have reached an agreement to reduce tariffs on each other during trade talks in Geneva last Monday.

An aerial view of the busy Yantian Port. Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

This development has led to a surge in orders from the U.S., which, according to business executives, has posed a significant challenge to the production and supply capabilities of enterprises.

Wang Li, ggeneral manager ofm a home furniture company in Shenzhen, said that her company secured four new orders on the day after the China-U.S. joint statement alone, with a total value of US$300,000 — almost the combined value of orders during the previous two weeks.

"We have planned to ship at least eight containers to the U.S. within the next week," Wang said. She also predicted that orders would continue to surge over the next three months.

Zhang Wulin, general manager of a digital technology company in Dongguan, a city neighboring Shenzhen, said he has witnessed a rapid rebound in orders from the U.S. following the tariff reductions.

"All our sales representatives are now so busy with shipping that they have no time to count the order volume," he noted.

Workers sort and inspect parcels for shipment at a logistics warehouse in Bao'an District, Shenzhen.

Yan Longhai, secretary-general of the Guangzhou Cross-Border E-commerce Industry Association, said that based on customer feedback from the association, orders secured in May have increased by 20% to 40% compared to the same period last month.

"Due to the tariff reduction, the orders that were originally suspended will gradually resume," he said.

Chen Yongjun, a distinguished professor at Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, noted that the U.S. remains one of China's major trade partners. China's total exports to the U.S. represented 14.7% of the country's total in 2024, lower than 19.2% in 2018.

Official data show that Guangdong, as China's largest foreign trade province, sold 948.81 billion yuan (US$131.65 billion) worth of products to the U.S. last year, with the proportion of exports to the U.S. having fallen to 16.1%.

The tariff reductions will help promote trade expansion between the two nations, said Chen. He urged domestic manufacturers to further improve product competitiveness and diversify their global market presence while increasing their presence in the U.S. market.

A surge in orders from the rest of the world has also boosted the growth of the shipping and logistics industries.

The business volume of one Shenzhen-based international logistics company is experiencing growth, with prices continuing to rise, but container shipments remain tight, said the company's shipping executive. (China Daily)