Article by China Homelife Fair and China Machinex
When you find yourself researching for a supplier in China it can be very overwhelming. China has over 150 cities with more than 1 million people, so this can make it difficult for those who are importing from China for the first time. This process can be made easier by making yourself familiar with the three golden regions of China. Familiarise yourself with these regions and you will see how this can benefit you when importing from China.
China can be broken up into three main regions for importers and these are located along the east coast of China which makes sense as these industrial export warehouses need ports close by to ship all the products out. The three main regions are; the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Rim Economic Circle. Suppliers are normally situated in one of these regions. By understanding these regions you will be able to use this knowledge to get the location of suppliers and create and maintain good relationships with them.
Each of these regions is home to one of China’s three main cities being Beijing (Bohai Rum Economic Circle), Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) and Guangzhou (Pearl River Delta). These cities are often used as points of reference when discussing smaller cities with suppliers for example Hangzhou is 200 kms from Shanghai. One thing not to forget is that each region normally specialises in a product. You might find one region devoted to specifically manufacturing textiles and garments and the other producing building materials. When you attend a trade show that is Chinese product based you will most likely find that most suppliers are from one of these three regions.
Why does this all matter? Choosing suppliers within close proximity helps reduce freight costs, which makes traveling easier and cheaper. It also helps to consider the regions when finding products from suppliers within specific hubs for precise products that you need. Often they have better quality products and you can even ship two different products from different suppliers in one container if they are within the same region.
China Homelife Fair and China Machinex is a proud Partner of the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC).