China’s belt and road plan helping foreign firms and hurting mainland exporters, say Canton Fair exhibitors

China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” has created unexpected, and often unwanted, challenges for China’s small and medium-sized exporters, according to veteran Chinese traders attending the Canton Fair.

While traders pay lip service to the government plan to recreate the Silk Road trading routes to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, some also worry that the initiative is generating new competition for the already embattled export sector.

“China’s top leaders went to belt and road countries and promoted big infrastructure projects. But in our actual trading process, the national strategy doesn’t help much for small and medium-sized manufacturing exporters like us, as few customers from belt and road countries know the concept of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said a salesman with Guangdong-based Aokly Power.

“So far, we can apply for subsidies from the government for taking part in exhibitions in belt and road countries. It seems it’s the only benefit from the belt and road plan for small exporters.”

Smaller traders also worry that foreign exhibitors from developing belt and road countries are attending the country’s biggest export fair that is currently underway in Guangdong province less to sell their goods but rather obtain ideas about new products they could use to compete with Chinese exports.

“We have come to the Canton Fair for many years. It is obvious that there are more and more merchants from the belt and road countries in the past two years. And there is a feeling that our veteran traders still don’t like it,” said a stone exporter, who declined to be identified.

“They feel a growing number of peers from countries along the belt and road routes, especially those from emerging manufacturing hubs like India, Vietnam and Cambodia, are coming to the Canton Fair to copy and imitate our prices and workmanship, or doing branding and marketing at the Canton Fair.”