Published by ChinaMNC · tibet

Jiangsu's Small Products, Big Exports: What Foreign Founders Can Learn from a 29.8% Trade Surge

Jiangsu's foreign trade rose 29.8% year on year in the first three quarters, with niche consumer goods driving exports. Here's what the details reveal for foreign founders building a China-based company.

Jiangsu's Export Engine: A Closer Look at the Numbers

According to Nanjing Customs statistics, Jiangsu's total foreign trade in the first three quarters of this year reached RMB 5.69 trillion, up 29.8% from the same period last year. That growth rate was 11 percentage points higher than the national average. While large equipment contributed, the province's smaller manufactured goods also played a notable role in driving exports.

For foreign founders considering a China entity, the details behind these figures offer practical lessons about product localization, tariff policy, and customs procedures. Below is what the source materials show.

Niche Consumer Goods as an Export Category

Hotel Textiles: Quality and Tariff Relief

Hotel linens are entering their annual peak export delivery season. Jiangsu Kangnaixin Textile Technology Co., Ltd. produces fabrics through multiple drawing and spinning processes. Its customs manager, Chen Qian, said the products are soft, skin-friendly and more wash-resistant, requiring gradual replacement only after about a year and a half of use. The company produces stable, high-quality output using fabrics of the same yarn density and has won orders from well-known hotel groups at home and abroad.

Chen said that with a China–ASEAN Free Trade Area certificate of origin issued by Huai'an Customs, the tariff rate on the company's products dropped from 12% to zero, significantly lowering customers' import costs and helping the company retain existing clients and open new markets. From January to August this year, the company's export value reached RMB 180 million.

The firm also customizes products for different overseas markets. For Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, it developed dedicated pool towels and colored towels that withstand intense tropical sunlight and pool conditions without fading for long periods. For the high-end hotel market, it used proprietary deodorization technology to develop a waterproof, fragrant down duvet.

Sleep Products: Segmenting by Consumer Need

As demand for quality sleep rises, more consumers at home and abroad are paying for sleep-aid products. Suzhou Jili Silk Co., Ltd., a time-honored enterprise in Zhenze, Wujiang, identified demand for comfortable, light-blocking sleep scenarios and created a silk cooling weighted eye mask. General Manager Zhu Wenchao said the mask suits fully dark sleep environments and combines cooling, breathability, softness and pressure relief. Since launch, monthly sales have consistently exceeded 100,000 units, and in the first nine months of this year export value of the silk eye mask more than doubled year on year. The company's foreign trade revenue grew notably this year, with export sales accounting for 65% of total sales and products covering 46 countries and regions.

Suzhou Opple Lighting Co., Ltd. targeted consumers who prefer soft light and an ambient atmosphere for sleep, breaking away from conventional lighting products to create sleep-aid lamps. Jiao Weide, the company's overseas supply chain head, said the firm developed a patented water-lily-color light sleep-aid technology that extracts a special pale pink tone from a broad spectrum and optimizes spectral bands to support melatonin secretion and create a relaxed pre-sleep environment. Jiao said the patented technology combined with certificate-of-origin preferential policies has kept the company's export momentum positive this year.

Holiday Goods: Certificates and Customs Speed

Tariff Savings Begin with a Certificate

Autumn is peak delivery season for Christmas items such as ribbons and bells. At Yangzhou Anbeisi Toys Co., Ltd., shelves are filled with alpacas in Santa hats and snowmen in scarves, while workers rush to produce Christmas plush toys for the ASEAN market. With a China–ASEAN Free Trade Area certificate of origin issued by Yangzhou Customs, these plush toys receive a 10% tariff preference locally. Foreign trade manager Lu Chunhua said the company applied for 23 free trade agreement certificates of origin in the first three quarters, enjoying nearly RMB 300,000 in import-country tariff preferences. Yangzhou Customs supervised exports of toy products worth about RMB 1.52 billion in the period and issued 367 certificates of origin under various free trade agreements.

Faster Clearance Matters Too

At Taizhou Feiyan Crafts Co., Ltd., workers are producing Christmas-themed crafts such as feather boas and angel wings. General Manager Dai Xingquan said this is the tightest production period each year because customers must meet shipping schedules, and this year clients generally asked for delivery one month earlier. Once this batch ships, the company will immediately switch to Easter products. In the first three quarters, Taizhou Customs supervised exports of Christmas decorations worth RMB 1.7378 million, up 96.17% year on year.

At Pengyunxin General Merchandise Store in Changshu's Mocheng Subdistrict, head Zhang Shuangshuang counted inventory among boxes. She said ribbons and bells sell best ahead of Christmas and must be included in each export batch. Using market procurement trade, goods can be consolidated and packed without waiting and reach destinations in just over a month. Changshu Customs has created a dual-channel clearance model combining transit and integrated customs clearance, allowing market procurement goods to be exported through 149 ports nationwide, with the fastest process from declaration to release taking only 22 minutes.

Agri-Food Processing: Moving Up the Value Chain

In Baoying County, lotus roots are being harvested and sent directly to the processing workshop of Yangzhou Tiancheng Food Co., Ltd. Foreign trade manager Diao Yuhong said the company's lotus root product exports exceeded RMB 28 million in the first three quarters, with orders booked into early next year and strong market demand. Yangzhou Customs supervised exports of lotus root and its products worth over RMB 100 million in the period, up about 3% year on year. The industry is shifting from primary fresh lotus root sales toward deep processing, turning a single root into boiled, salted and quick-frozen products sold to Southeast Asia, Europe and the US.

What This Means for Foreign Founders

These cases point to several practical considerations for founders setting up or operating a company in China:

• Use free trade agreements. Certificates of origin can substantially reduce import tariffs for customers, as shown by the textile and toy examples.
• Localize for specific markets. Product adaptation for climate, culture and consumer needs is a recurring theme.
• Understand customs channels. Clearance speed and market procurement trade models can affect delivery timelines.
• Look beyond large equipment. Niche consumer categories can be meaningful export drivers.

Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.