China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (ccpit) 2009 Preface

China's Light Industry Export

1. Analysis on Export Statistics

In the first half of 2008, China's light industry export kept stable. In the second half especially the fourth quarter, China's light industry production slowed down, profits decreased and export order died off under the influence of international financial crisis. However, its export amount maintained a high level in 2008. In the end of the year, light industry production situation turned better though not completely due to various favorable factors such as national industrial policy to promote domestic demand and export rebates of light industry products. Therefore, China's light industry export amount and value would keep declining in 2009. Since international financial crisis is difficult to recover in short time, the shrinking of foreign demand for light industry products and rising of international trade barrier will definitely set back China's light industry products.

From Jan. to Dec. in 2008, the total export amount of China's light industry reached US$ 309.229 billion, up by 14.48% than US$ 270.118 billion in previous year. The accumulated growth on year-on-year basis in all months except February exceeded double digits. The year-on-year export value growth is declining. In 2008, food and beverage industry gross export stood at US$ 28.524 billion up by 11.84% on a year-on-year basis; leather and fur products gross export reached US$ 42.546 billion, up by 10.37% on a year-on-year basis; plastic products gross export reached US$ 26.914 billion, up by 15.52% on a year-on-year basis; household appliance gross export reached US$ 27.583 billion, up by 21.94% on a year-on-year basis; metal products gross export reached US$ 23.649 billion, up by 8.41% on a year-on-year basis.

Figure 9 159 Statistical table of China's light industry products gross export from Jan. to Dec. in 2008

Unit: US$ 100 million

Month	Export Volume of This month	Accumulated export volume	Export volume Over the same period Last year	Accumulated growth on a year-on-year basis %
1	254.70	254.70	206.9	23.14
2	180.70	435.40	397.61	9.51
3	227.74	663.03	569.53	16.24
4	258.10	921.00	791.08	16.42
5	257.10	1177.87	1008.52	16.8
6	254.85	1432.89	1241.51	15.42
7	258.85	1718.63	1486.95	15.58
8	282.91	2001.53	1737.10	15.22
9	287.22	2288.65	1980.26	15.57
10	273.62	2562.28	2213.35	15.76
11	258.46	2820.59	2457.58	14.77
12	271.70	3092.29	2701.18	14.48

Source: China Customs Statistics

According to export value statistics of major light industry products in 2008, leather, fur products and cultural, educational and sports goods export value took large proportions of 13.78% and 12.78% of the total. Household appliance industry ranked the third, accounting for 11.68%, followed by food and beverage industry (9.22%), furniture manufacturing (8.92%) and plastic products (8.70%). In the same year, China's light industry export value growth on a year-on-year basis decreased by 4.74 percentage points. Light industry machinery export value saw the largest decline of 23.88 percentage points than the previous year. Metal products, leather and fur manufacturing encountered a small yearly decrease than the previous year.

Figure 9 160 Export value statistics of China's light industry major industries in 2007-2008

Unit: US$ 100 million, %

Item	2007			2008
	Export Value	Proportion	Year-on-year growth	Export Value	Proportion	Year-on-year growth
Total of Light industry	2702.62	100	19.22	3092.29	100	14.48
Food and beverage	255.05	9.44	13.63	285.24	9.22	11.84
Plastic products	232.99	8.62	14.86	269.14	8.70	15.52
Furniture	226.20	8.37	29.50	275.83	8.92	21.94
Household appliance	317.71	11.76	26.77	361.10	11.68	13.66
Pulp and paper making products	59.18	2.19	19.22	63.80	2.06	7.90
Light industry machinery	16.53	0.61	51.75	21.13	0.68	27.87
Metal products	218.25	8.08	20.94	236.49	7.65	8.41
Cultural, educational and sports goods	330.36	12.22	20.26	395.33	12.78	19.66
Daily chemicals	109.22	4.04	21.55	123.90	4.01	13.44
Arts and crafts	113.49	4.20	18.83	124.13	4.01	9.38
Leather and fur products	385.47	14.26	10.52	425.46	13.76	10.37
Lighting Fixture manufacturing	135.29	5.01	25.78	163.25	5.28	20.67
Wood, bamboo, cane, palm fiber and straw products	33.62	1.24	8.96	33.33	1.08	-0.86
Other industries	269.26	9.96		314.16	10.16

Source: China Customs Statistics

2. Features of China's Light Industry Going out

Household enterprises took the lead of China's light industry to go out, demonstrated by Haier Group, TCL Group, Changhong Group and Midea Group. Among all Chinese enterprises conducting international strategies, Qingdao Haier Group could be regarded the first of its kind. As early as in 1990s, Haier stepped out. It invested and set up factories overseas after 1998. Haier insists on strategies of "all things are difficult before they are easy" and "export to create a brand". It has stepped over more than 160 countries and regions and set up 30 manufacturing bases abroad. On April 30^th, 1999 in Camden, a town with 8000 population located in the middle of South Carolina USA, American Haier Industrial Park invested by Haier with US$ 30 million held foundation stone laying ceremony. Over one year later, along with the first Haier refrigerator with a label Made in USA came up from good-looking production line, Haier created a history to make refrigerator in USA. Haier became the first enterprise who manufactured and sold products in USA. In European market, Haier chose multinational acquisition according to local laws, economic and cultural features. On June 19, 2001, Haier Group acquired an Italian refrigerator company and set up design centers in Lyons France and Amsterdam Netherland. With a marketing center in Milan, Haier built up a localized design, manufacturing and marketing chain of white household appliance. Learning from the rich experience of European countries to create brand in hundreds of years, Haier manufactured products to meet the strict requirements of European market for environmental protection and energy saving. On January 8^th 2002, Haier set up comprehensive cooperation relationship with Sanyo Electric Japan. According to the cooperation agreement, Haier would gain support to enter Japanese market and promise to purchase Sanyo key parts to backup its sales in China. Haier constituted technology alliance with 12 large international companies successively such as Dutch Philips, German Mize, and Japanese Toshiba in order to develop a certain technology area. Thanks to these advantage complementary relationships, 18 Haier laboratories around the world obtain constant technology and production support, maintain an advanced world level and have a long lead on go-beyond technology products including 100HZ, large screen, networking and high definition.

Haier set foot in overseas stock market via acquisition and backdoor listing. In July 2001, Haire made use of CCT Multimedia, a Hong Kong listed company, and purchased mobile phone manufacturing and distributive trading from its parent company. After acquisition, the name was changed to Haier-CCT Holdings Limited; on January 28^th 2005, Haier-CCT announced that Haier Group had finished investment plan to its subsidiary company and the company would be renamed as Haier Electronics Group Co., Ltd. It meant Haier Group built up a larger overseas financing platform.