China has become the world's largest exporter of sports goods - "Made in China" sports goods exports are booming

According to data recently released by the General Administration of Customs, China's exports of sports goods and equipment increased by 16.7% year-on-year in the first half of this year, 9.8 percentage points higher than the overall export growth rate during the same period. According to a data report released by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the global trade in sports goods has grown nearly threefold in the past 30 years, and during these 30 years, China has become the world's largest exporter of sports goods.

Sports goods and equipment exports increased by 16.7% in the first half of the year

In Jinping County, Guizhou Province, an important global badminton production base, tens of thousands of badminton games and over 100000 pieces of badminton fly from here to the world every day.

We have calculated that approximately one out of every ten badminton balls produced globally is from Jinping, "said Hu Bing, the production manager of Guizhou Yashiling Sports and Culture Industry Development Co., Ltd. The company's output value last year was 340 million yuan, producing over four million badminton balls and exporting nearly nine million US dollars. Its products are sold to more than 60 countries and regions. In the first half of this year, the factory produced over 2.3 million pairs of badminton, with an output value of 185 million yuan, and exports increased by about 40% compared to the same period last year. At present, badminton is in short supply and has been ordered as soon as it is shipped. We are working hard to produce the ordered products

The explosive popularity of badminton is a microcosm of the hot production and export of sports equipment in China. In the first half of the year, China's exports of sports goods and equipment increased by 16.7% year-on-year. Which sports goods are selling well abroad?

Firstly, there are ball games and related supplies.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter of 2024, the cumulative export volume of Chinese football, basketball, and volleyball reached 89.2 million units, a month on month increase of 0.79% and a year-on-year increase of 33.57%. The export value was 193 million US dollars, a month on month increase of 10.36% and a year-on-year increase of 17.99%; The cumulative export value of table tennis, badminton, tennis and related products was 204 million US dollars, an increase of 0.59% month on month and 0.93% year-on-year.

From the perspective of export countries, countries such as the United States, Russia, Germany, Brazil, and Mexico have become the main export markets for football, basketball, and volleyball. The United States, Vietnam, France, Germany, Spain and other countries are the main export destinations for table tennis, badminton, tennis and related products. Among the top ten export markets, Asian countries occupy 5 seats, with exports to the Philippines reaching 6.04 million US dollars, a month on month increase of 69.55%.

Next is roller skates and skateboards.

In the first quarter of this year, China's cumulative export volume of roller skates was 3.47 million pairs, a month on month increase of 14.66% and a year-on-year increase of 30.85%; The cumulative export volume of skateboards was 3.05 million, a month on month increase of 23.08% and a year-on-year increase of 50.21%. From the perspective of export countries, Europe and America are still the main export markets for roller skates and skateboarding products. With skateboarding becoming an Olympic sport, the influence of skateboarding has further expanded, driving consumption in countries such as Russia and Japan, and significantly increasing exports. It is worth noting that exports to Canada increased from $106000 in the fourth quarter of 2023 to $503200, a month on month growth of 393.21%, making it one of the top ten export markets and a highlight in this field.

In addition, the export trend of fitness equipment such as artificial grass and treadmills is also very strong. The cumulative export volume of treadmills in the first quarter was 3.18 million units, a year-on-year increase of 44.94%, mainly sold to developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany; The cumulative export volume of artificial grass is 31.72 million square meters, a year-on-year increase of 15.64%. Countries such as the United States, Japan, and Spain are the main export markets.

Smarter and greener

Yang Xuetao, Director of the Sports Economy Department of the General Administration of Sport of China, introduced that there are many highlights in the development of China's sports industry at present: significant economic achievements in sports events, comprehensive recovery of various types of events, and continuous expansion of the number of events and participation scale; The outdoor sports industry is booming, with the rapid development of the "new three board" sports of surfing, paddleboarding, and skiing. Outdoor sports are attracting more groups and forming new trends; The manufacturing of sports equipment is accelerating and upgrading, and many sports equipment companies have achieved remarkable results in the direction of product intelligence and intelligence.

Going global is an important direction for the future development of the sports goods industry, "Bao Mingxiao, Dean of the China Sports Policy Research Institute at Beijing Sport University, told reporters. The pace of going global should be more solid and powerful, relying on more technological and environmentally friendly "hard power".

In the Huai'an Economic Development Zone of Jiangsu Province, the production workshop of Dingqi Sports Goods (Huai'an) Co., Ltd. has 12 production lines operating at full capacity, capable of producing over 65000 ball liners per day.

This enterprise specializes in producing inner liners for sports balls such as football, volleyball, basketball, and rugby, with 70% of the products exported overseas. The Paris Olympics utilized products developed by this company that contain 70% bio based ingredients.

This soccer ball is implanted with a chip that can perform 500 recognition actions within 1 second, and use real-time data to assist in determining whether it is a handball, offside, etc., "Zhou Hongda, the general manager of Dingqi Sports Equipment (Huai'an) Co., Ltd., told reporters." The material used for the traditional soccer ball liner is a chemical product extracted from petroleum. Now we are continuously developing and launching liners made of recycled materials and biobased materials to respond to the needs of environmental protection and carbon reduction

Since the beginning of this year, this company has exported 4.07 million sports balls and training balls for events such as the European Cup, Copa America, and the Olympics, with foreign trade orders in hand until the end of the year. Zhou Hongda believes that the key to "Made in China" winning the market lies in continuous innovation, increasing the technological content of products, and adapting to new market demands.

At the Paris Olympics, the hydrofoil and windsurfing event made its debut as an Olympic event. The hydrofoil, which carries athletes and windsurfing, is the key equipment of hydrofoil and windsurfing projects, and also the flagship product of Suli Composite Materials (Hubei) Co., Ltd.

The thinner the hydrofoil, the faster its speed in the water, and the more obvious its effect on improving athletes' performance, "said Wang Guangxu, an engineer from the Quality Department of Suli Composite Materials. Taking the hydrofoil series that has entered the Olympic arena as an example, compared with the manual polishing method commonly used in the industry, the enterprise has introduced grinding robots to polish the hydrofoil surface more evenly, with better streamline, and the thinnest part can reach 0.02 millimeters.

The company has also independently developed 3D scanning inspection equipment based on the needs of the Olympic Games, providing reliable reference for high-precision production of products. Nowadays, there are more than 10 foreign engineers in the team, and a logistics warehouse has been established in Europe. Whether it is the application of new materials or the iteration speed of production processes, the enterprise has obvious advantages in the industry. This is also an important reason for the enterprise to stand out in the fiercely competitive Olympic equipment market, "said Yan Zaixing, General Manager of Suli Composite Materials.

Wen Jia, Deputy Secretary General of the China Sports Goods Industry Federation, stated that the domestic market competition is fierce, but at the same time, it also forces enterprises and businesses to focus more on segmented fields and detailed differences from customer needs, and use technological means to provide customized and personalized products and services.

The supplier of the "Bird's Nest" track at the National Stadium and Guangzhou Tongxin Sports have laid 21 World Athletics Federation certified tracks. The person in charge of the company stated that currently, customized sports surfaces such as runways and courts can be achieved in terms of appearance and performance. Different colors and patterns of runways or stadiums have begun to emerge, such as the use of deep purple and light purple colors for the track and field of the Paris Olympics, "said Chen Chen, Vice President of Tongxin Sports." Tongxin has developed new printing technology to make the printed patterns more firmly integrated with the surface layer of the runway and stadium, and can present any cool and complex pattern that customers want

From product export to technology, service, and brand export

Driven by the competition economy, buyers from all over the world seize business opportunities and come to Yiwu, Zhejiang to purchase various sports products. Here, the improvement of customs supervision efficiency has also provided strong assistance for Chinese enterprises to go global.

Badminton rackets, hats, soccer balls... "In the customs supervision work site of Yiwu Railway West Station, Yiwu Customs officers are carefully checking the cargo information inside the container against the customs declaration form. This is a batch of badminton rackets and other small commodities that will soon be exported through the China Europe freight train from Yiwu Shuangfu Import and Export Co., Ltd. In about 20 days, these goods will arrive in the destination country of Georgia.

Zhou Huawei, the head of the Second Supervision Department of Yiwu Customs, introduced to reporters that in order to improve the inspection speed, the customs has set up intelligent checkpoints, intelligent monitoring systems and other equipment at Yiwu Railway West Station. Through non-invasive inspection of goods through X-ray scanning, containers can automatically enter the site without opening the box for inspection.

In order to improve customs clearance efficiency, Yiwu Customs has also opened a special window for sports events at Yiwu Port, providing targeted guidance to sports equipment related enterprises. In the customs clearance process, relying on the "Market Procurement Comprehensive Network Information Platform" to achieve "one click declaration", more than 99% of market procurement export goods have achieved "instant release" of computerized document review.

Actively integrating into the international system and striving to expand overseas markets is not just about products going global.

At the recently concluded 2024 China International Sports Goods Expo, Yang Lei, General Manager of the Foreign Trade Department of Hebei Jiediqi Sports Goods Co., Ltd., had new ideas and gains for going global. For this sports expo alone, Yang Lei and his colleagues have contacted clients from countries such as Russia, Malaysia, Brazil, India, Thailand, Chile, and Colombia.

"Many foreign businessmen recognize our manufacturing level, and they also hope to introduce China's production technology into the past. We may not only export products, but also export technology, services and brands in the future." Yang Lei said, "Our idea of going to sea is to follow the the Belt and Road. Because we not only do products, but also do services, and do integrated solutions, which can better integrate with other industries, and is more convenient for us. Recently, we are studying to build a production base in Serbia. We just visited there, and the environment and market are good, which is very suitable for the market."