Street restaurants in Thailand regain popularity. (photo by Mei Lei)
On December 2, a pep rally for Ningbo's "100 Trips, 1,000 Companies, and 10,000 People" Campaign kicked off in the city, looking to encourage local foreign trade companies to pursue business opportunities abroad through overseas exhibitions and business talks. The Campaign to propel the high-quality development of Ningbo's open economy will help local businesses build up confidence and get a head start by boosting export orders and market expansion.
12月2日，寧波市召開“百團千企萬人”拓市場促招引行動動員會(以下簡稱“行動”)，鼓勵全市外貿人出國參展洽談，助力企業穩訂單、拓市場、增信心、搶先機，為寧波開放型經濟高質量發展注入動能。
In response to the Campaign, many local foreign trade businesses have ordered flights and made plans to attend international exhibitions in 2023. “The minute we arrived at the airport, we saw the bustling crowd. It looked basically the way it was before the pandemic. On the streets, there were few Chinese people, but visitors from Europe, America, and India were everywhere ...” This is what Erdem Ozturk, a young Turkish expat who has been taking up foreign trade business in Ningbo for nearly ten years, recently saw in Thailand. On December 6, the third day after Ningbo relaxed its COVID control measures, Erdem and his Italian colleague Giovanni Battista Belleri flew to Thailand with other business delegations from Ningbo to explore the market.
不少寧波外貿企業紛紛預訂出境機票，甚至把2023年的海外參展計劃提上行程。“我們剛到機場，就看到熙熙攘攘的人群，基本恢復至疫情前的樣子；街頭巷尾的‘中國面孔’很少，但歐美和印度的游客隨處可見……”這是在寧波做外貿近10年的土耳其青年Erdem Ozturk，近期在泰國的見聞。12月6日，在寧波宣布優化防疫政策的第三天，Erdem便響應寧波的號召，和意大利籍同事老貝等人飛往泰國尋求商機。
Erdem, executive of Ningbo Mascube Import & Export Group, is also among the first Ningbo Overseas Communication Officers. He helps not only the company with import and export transactions but also the city of Ningbo to present a valid image to the world. During his trip to Thailand, Erdem visited 4 businesses securing partnerships with two of them.
Erdem是寧波外貿龍頭企業美博集團的外籍高管，也是首批寧波海外傳播官之一。他一邊幫助公司“買全球”“賣全球”，一邊向世界講好寧波故事。這次出差，他拜訪了4家泰國企業，其中有2家已初步達成合作意向。
"One of the Thai companies we visited produces plastic injection molded parts to supply high-pressure cleaning equipment to Europe and America. To increase assembly line capacity, it needs to purchase parts from China before exporting products to Europe and America. We told the company that Beilun District in Ningbo is well-developed in industry and is marked as China's 'hometown of molds', and it is also a powerhouse of the national aluminum die-casting parts industry. As a result, they are pretty much impressed," said Erdem.
“我們拜訪了一家生產注塑件的泰國公司，產品供給歐美的高壓清洗設備。公司正打算擴產，但他們雖有流水線，卻仍需向中國采購零部件，再出口歐美。我們告訴對方，寧波北侖有著發達的工業基礎，是‘中國模具之鄉’，也是全國鋁壓鑄件產業的重要集聚區，讓他們印象深刻。”Erdem說。
Moreover, Erdem visited another Thai manufacturer who intended to import steel parts from China. He was informed that some orders were indeed relocated to Thailand due to the 25% tariff on Chinese steel imposed by the United States. This suggests that importing steel parts from China is due to a discrepancy in industrial foundation between the two countries.
Erdem還拜訪了另一家想從中國進口鋼鐵零部件的泰國生產商。他得知，由于美國對中國鋼鐵加征25%關稅，部分訂單的確轉移到了泰國，但泰國的鋼鐵產業基礎，目前無法和中國相提并論，還得從中國進口零部件后再進行組裝。
"We have been in contact for months, and now we have finally built a face-to-face friendship! They invited us to their annual party. We can source cost-effective parts directly from Ningbo with guaranteed quality and better prices. And the deal is set to take effect as early as March next year." Erdem said.
Currently, the streets of Thailand are gradually regaining popularity. More and more Chinese people are expected to fly there. During the trip, Erdem met a businessperson from Taizhou, a neighboring city of Ningbo, who also made moves without hesitation as soon as he learned about the policy adjustment. After listening to his story, Erdem spoke out of emotion: "In China's Zhejiang province, entrepreneurs will do everything they can to win orders. For them, nothing is impossible!"
“我們已經談了幾個月，總算面對面建立了友誼！他們邀請我們參加年度派對。我們能從寧波直接采購高性價比的零部件，品控有保障，沒有中間商賺差價，最快明年3月開始正式合作。”Erdem說。
如今，泰國的街頭逐漸恢復昔日的人氣，靜候越來越多“中國面孔”的出現。Erdem在旅途中遇到了一位臺州外貿人，同樣是一看到政策調整就立馬出發，讓他不禁感嘆：“在浙江，企業家們會想盡一切辦法獲得訂單，一切皆有可能！”
Journalist: Yan Jin
Correspondent: Mei Lei
Translator: Pan Wenjie
Proofreaders: PuYang Rong, Jason Mowbray