Buying in Fujian province China

I spent the last few days in Fujian province. I had not come to this part of china for more than 2 years.

Fujian is the coastal province that faces Taiwan. It has the 9th per capita GDP of China — much lower than neighboring coastal provinces (Guangdong and Zhejiang).

My feeling is that it got an early boost in the 1990s thanks to the thousands of Taiwanese businesspeople that established operations there. But it gives an impression of low dynamism, even of backwardness, compared with Guangdong and Zhejiang.

The major cities that are close to, but outside, Fujian (Shantou and Wenzhou), have quite a different feel. They are more entrepreneurial. Their businesspeople are much more savvy. That difference is very palpable and surprised me.

Fortunately, by the end of this year a fast train line (gaotie) will link the main coastal cities to Hong Kong in about 3 hours. That should help a little bit.

Major cities

– Xiamen: not a large city, but a real business city with a nice quality of life (very laid back, with nice beaches).

Particular specializations: stone, LED. Xiamen also hosts the (large) operations of a few multinationals like Dell.

– Fuzhou: the other business city of Fujian, but much less attractive to expats. Also hosts many trading companies. Capital city of Fujian.

– Quanzhou: mainly production of jackets, underwear, and shoes.

– Putian: mostly production of shoes. This is a 4.5 million people city that few people have heard about!

What importers should know

A sourcing agent established there told me he feels the need to follow production very closely. Average quality is lower here than in Guangdong or Jiangsu. And it is not improving.

From my experience, good factories are pretty rare in Fujian. Manufacturers are specialized in low price, simple products.

As production slowly relocates inland (in Nanchang, Longyan…), factories based in cities like Quanzhou and Putian will suffer more and more. It will be interesting to see if they find ways to rely less on low prices to attract regular orders.

Anybody has experiences to share about Fujian?