According to official figures, manufacturing companies in China continue to grow despite a sluggish global economy. One example of such a company can be found in the city of Quanzhou, the starting point of the ancient maritime silk road in southeastern China’s Fujian Province.

At the forefront of one of the country’s traditional manufacturing bases, companies are seeking new growth through modernization.

Through innovation and collaboration, enterprises are finding their strengths and paths in making profits and achieving bigger goals.

For JOMOO, a company producing smart household products, this is particularly true. 

In just 30 years, it has become an international giant with over 50,000 sales outlets worldwide. The company attributes its success to a focus on innovation.   

Its president Lin Xiaofa said that the company’s high-quality development is based upon higher standards as well as intelligent manufacturing.

That can be seen in its large-scale investments in research, running some 30 research institutes around the world. 

Like JOMOO, many companies in Quanzhou were once small workshops or factories, making labor-intensive products. 

Now, technology is fueling new profits. Shoe-maker Huabao is among companies seeing results first-hand.

Huang Jinhuang, the president of the company, said that it’s the innovation in design and manufacturing devices that made his company improve significantly. 

“In the past three years, our customers' orders increased significantly because particularly because of our own automated production lines," Huang said. 

Still, these companies face challenges, especially international competition from lower-cost countries. But they are confident. 

“China has evolved a reasonably-good industrial ecology like in manufacturing in Quanzhou. And this is very essential,” JOMOO’s Lin Xiaofa said.

And with more favorable policies like government tax cuts, companies in Quanzhou find they have greater strength to compete globally. 

Despite a downward global economy, many are now looking to cooperate with other countries and expand their branches overseas. 

So this city, once the starting point of the ancient maritime silk road, is betting its future on a dedication to innovation.