Manufacturers from northeast China to adjust marketing strategy amid trade conflict with US

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The porters of "Made in China" - logistics and freight forwarding companies -- help handle the import and export services. And each new round of US tariffs means shipping agent Liu Jing has to double check what items are on the list, and what's not.

The porters of "Made in China" - logistics and freight forwarding companies -- help handle the import and export services. /CGTN Photo

A shipping agent in Shenyang is double checking what items are on the US tariffs list, and what's not. /CGTN Photo

It's been a busy week for Liu Jing from Kerry Logistics. /CGTN Photo

Shipping agent Liu Jing told CGTN that they had tried to gather as much information as possible, from the customs and the local commerce bureau, to provide real-time and constructive solutions to their clients who trade with the US.

And also, 60 kilometers away from Shenyang, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, is Faku County, one of China's largest ceramic production centers.

Sixty kilometers away from Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province is Faku county, one of China's largest ceramic production centers. /CGTN Photo

“The county's economy is driven by the ceramic business,” said Lin Mao, the owner of the county's well established ceramic manufacturer. /CGTN Photo

Earlier this year, a well-established Chinese ceramic company owned by Lin Mao secured an order worth 15 million US dollars from the US. Lin told CGTN the "Made in China" brand will never be as cheap as it used to be, and a price war with foreign competitors is out of the equation, because of rising operational costs. And the reason why they could win over our foreign competitors is efficiency. "We understand what our foreign customers want. More importantly we intend to meet their desires much quicker than anyone else in the industry," said Lin.

Lin told CGTN that the "Made in China" brand will never be as cheap as it used to be, and a price war with foreign competitors is out of the equation because of rising operational costs. /CGTN Photo

Most of Lin's products have survived Trump's tariffs list… for now. But as the trade war between China and the US looks like it might escalate, Lin thinks the extra burden will be on the consumer. Because he thinks what will happen at the end is that, as the quality of Chinese products improves, this idea of "Made in China” will be indispensable to US consumers. So, people in the US are the ones who will be paying the tariffs which their government imposed.

Lin thinks the US consumers are the ones who will settle the extra tax bill. /CGTN Photo

China is hoping the US would revoke the measures that violated the WTO rules, and bring bilateral trade back to normal. And as for the Chinese manufacturers, many are already looking for alternative markets elsewhere.