(Yicai Global) July 26 -- Chinese exporters are doing their best to overcome obstacles such as the higher cost of overseas travel and difficulties in securing visas in order to actively develop new markets by attending overseas exhibitions, visiting foreign clients and other means to drum up orders amid weak global demand, Yicai Global learned from a number of interviews.

"No one dares to say how the year will pan out, but in general we are upbeat,” said Wei Guowen, general manager of toy specialist Paulinda Import & Export. The firm saw its European orders drop slightly in the first half, but overall there was an improvement as the Ningbo-based company is now active in the US market, which it has just entered.

"Our textile firm managed to open up a few new markets at the China Import and Export Fair held in Guangzhou this spring, particularly in Australia," said General Manager Yuan Xiumei, who has just returned from attending an exhibition in the continent. It also secured quite a few European orders at the fair and all of this has helped boost the firm’s business in the first half.

The southeastern Zhejiang province-based firm has slightly more orders in hand now than a year ago, Yuan said. But it is hard to know what the second half will be like, she added.

"Things weren’t great in the first half, especially at the end of May and early June," said Ding Yandong, general manager of a door and window accessories company. But business picked up by around 20 percent to 30 percent year-on-year before that period, and July has not been bad, so overall the Ningbo-based firm is doing OK now, he added.

Shandong Raytu Laser Technology logged a 30 percent uptick in orders during the first six months, as demand for laser equipment increased, said general manger Ma Tongwei. Orders from Southeastern Asian countries and Türkiye grew particularly quickly, Ma said.

New Challenges

Expensive air tickets and difficulties in securing visas have been troubling Chinese exporters who do a lot of overseas travel.

"Going abroad has become roughly 30 percent to 40 percent more costly than before Covid-19, no matter where you go," said Ding, who visited around 10 countries in the first half. The number of flights to Europe have almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels but ticket prices have surged, he added.

"A round-trip air ticket to Europe costs between CNY10,000 (USD1,397) and CNY20,000 now, whereas before it would cost no more than CNY7,000 (USD978),” Wei said. Wei will visit the firm’s European clients next month and will take part in an exhibition in the US in September.

Getting visas is also more difficult than before. Previously, it took one month to apply for a Schengen Visa to Europe, but now we need to apply six months in advance, said Lu Peijing, general manager of Ningbo V.K. Industry & Trading.

"Two of our clients in Iran and India cannot come to China due to visa issues, and they need to submit a huge amount of documentation," Ding said. But visas for personal travel are not as complicated and Ding has already secured a 10-year US visa and a three-year Australia visa, he added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor