Nigeria Times

By Bai Xue, Wang Qi

Recently, five containers carrying 200 electric tricycles departed from Xishan district, Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu province, making their way to Shanghai Port for shipment to Ecuador.

This marks the first time a motorcycle manufacturing company in Wuxi has exported its products to Ecuador. The electric tricycles produced by this company have already been sold to over 40 countries and regions, with exports reaching nearly 70,000 units this year, a 40 percent increase compared to the previous year.

At the end of 2023, a short video went viral on social media unexpectedly, in which a Chinese woman gifts an electric tricycles to her father-in-law in the United States, and the elderly American man drives the vehicle around his small town, attracting widespread attention with its unique design and iconic notification sound that says “Please be aware, the vehicle is reversing.”

This video quickly made electric tricycles a sensation overseas.

From North American neighborhoods to Southeast Asian markets, from South American estates to Central Asian towns, the Chinese-produced electric tricycles are becoming another new symbol of Chinese manufacturing going global.

Fengxian county in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, is known for its booming agriculture, where fruit orchards were once the primary source of income for locals. In the 1980s, pedal-powered tricycles gradually became a common household item to make the transportation of fruits easier.

Around 2000, electric scooters quietly emerged. Kang Yunqing, a farmer in Fengxian county with a knack for innovation, traveled to many places to gather motors, batteries, and controllers, eventually modifying a pedal-powered tricycle into an electric one. In 2002, Kang set up an electric vehicle factory. Subsequently, the electric tricycle industry in Fengxian county gradually took off and grew into one of the largest electric tricycle production bases in China.

Today, Fengxian county has developed a comprehensive industrial chain and supply chain system for electric tricycles. The county is home to over 1,000 enterprises engaged in complete tricycle manufacturing and parts and components production, accounting for more than 60 percent of the domestic electric tricycle market and over 95 percent of the motor market. Their products are exported to more than 130 countries and regions.

A reason for the growing preference for electric tricycles among overseas consumers is their cost-effectiveness.

“In the United States, many farm owners are enthusiastic about purchasing electric tricycles. Previously, their main transportation and hauling tools were pickup trucks, which cost over $20,000 each. In contrast, an electric tricycle only costs a few thousand dollars. It is flexible, convenient, and well-suited for short-distance transportation and farm tool handling on farms,” said Ni Xiaofeng, general manager of a motorcycle manufacturing company in Wuxi, as he crunched the numbers. 

Additionally, apart from the low purchase cost, electric tricycles are powered by electricity, making their operational costs significantly lower than those of fuel-powered vehicles. They also align with the trend of green and eco-friendly development, making them highly popular among overseas users.

In response to diverse demands in the global market, Chinese electric tricycle manufacturers have demonstrated remarkable flexibility and innovation.

Liu Yinhu, head of a company in the electric tricycle industry in Jiangsu, explained that his company already exports products to 15 countries and regions. “We make adaptive modifications for different markets, such as anti-rust treatments and battery range enhancements,” he said.

From English-language labels to compliance with local safety standards, from anti-rust treatments for tropical regions to battery insulation for cold climates, every detail reflects the meticulousness of Chinese manufacturing.

Beyond electric tricycles, various specialized electric vehicles from China, including delivery vans, sightseeing cars, sanitation trucks, and high-pressure cleaning vehicles, are meeting the needs of global customers across different application scenarios.

The export of Chinese electric tricycles is a vivid example of the transformation and upgrading of Chinese manufacturing. By leveraging cost-effectiveness to enter the market and innovation to secure growth, these Chinese products have not only been revitalized but have also showcased the innovative strength of Chinese manufacturing to the world.

By Julio Ceballos

In the 21st century, China is one of the most important players on the international stage. It plays a key role in global economic development, scientific and technological innovation, and the fight against climate change. Gaining a deeper understanding of how China interacts with the world is not only an academic exercise but also essential for anticipating the trajectory of global affairs.

The term “Xuanji” originates from an ancient Chinese astronomical instrument used to track the stars. Just as early astronomers aligned their decisions with celestial movements, Europe today needs to recalibrate its strategic orientation. “Xuanji Tu” (The Celestial Compass) is the title of a palindrome poem written by Su Hui, a talented woman of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589). This carries symbolic weight: there are multiple ways to respond to global challenges, and China’s development experience shows that modernization does not follow a single path. My new book, El calibrador de estrellas, which means Xuanji Tu, explores how China, its enterprises, and its people navigate an increasingly complex global landscape.

One of the most important lessons I have learned from China is that development is not the product of spontaneous impulses, but the result of decades-long, deliberate efforts. In Europe, political vision is often constrained by election cycles, with frequent leadership changes disrupting long-term initiatives. China exhibits strategic continuity: long-term goals remain constant, and the actions to achieve them are sustained over time.

After 18 years of living and working in China, I have come to observe its development with a focused and unbiased perspective, looking beyond surface impressions to understand deeper motivations and values. I have also come to see China not as a monolithic entity nor as an unfathomable enigma, but as a vibrant mosaic where tradition and innovation coexist, pragmatism aligns with ambition, and strategic patience is reinforced by executional efficiency.

The book El calibrador de estrellas is not intended to be an exhaustive analysis or a definitive guide. Rather, it is an invitation – through concrete experiences – to share lessons from China that can resonate with any society: the importance of long-term planning, investing in human capital, fostering innovation with clear objectives, and nurturing collective resilience. It is neither a gesture of blind admiration nor of idealized comparison, but an earnest effort to build a bridge between Europe and China. In an increasingly interdependent world, the true challenge lies in fostering mutual understanding and moving forward together.

People’s Daily reporters

Before dawn in Dongying, Shandong, crab farmers in Yong’an Township haul traps from shimmering ponds, revealing green-shelled, white-bellied Chinese mitten crabs with signature golden claws. Within 12 hours, these delicacies would arrive at dining tables across the country, made possible by China’s rapidly advancing cold-chain logistics network.

Inside the packaging workshop of Dongying Huize Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., workers sort crabs under stringent protocols. “To ensure freshness, we’ve built an integrated cold-chain logistics and distribution warehouse,” said company general manager Wang Yingze. 

“Before shipment, the crabs are pre-cooled for six to eight hours to preserve quality and minimize losses during transport,” Wang added.

In the warehouse, express delivery vehicles from China Post, SF Express, JINGDONG Logistics, and other companies operate in a steady flow. “During peak season, we handle up to 20,000 orders a day, some 20 to 25 tons of crabs,” Wang said.

As consumer demand for freshness grows – whether for summer fruits from the south or autumn seafood – China’s cold-chain logistics industry is experiencing robust expansion. According to the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP), food-related cold-chain logistics demand reached 192 million tons in the first half of this year, up 4.35 percent year on year. Corresponding revenues climbed to 279.94 billion yuan ($39.31 billion), up 3.84 percent.

“With fresh food consumption entering its peak season, the cold-chain logistics industry is showing strong momentum and growing resilience,” said Liu Fei, executive deputy secretary-general of CFLP’s cold-chain logistics committee.

Backed by national planning and surging market demand, China is accelerating the construction and intelligent upgrading of cold storage infrastructure. In June this year, a 920 million yuan super cold storage facility with over 150,000 tons of capacity was launched at the Bainipo Industrial Park in Suixi county, Zhanjiang, south China’s Guangdong province. From there, seafood and tropical fruits from surrounding areas can reach dinner tables across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area within just five hours.

On Oct. 8, a cargo flight flying between Europe and Asia landed at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, carrying four tons of Atlantic salmon. The seafood was swiftly transferred to cold storage via refrigerated trucks.

“Imported chilled seafood now basically arrives and goes on sale the same day,” said Tan Weiping, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Airport International Cargo Terminal Co., Ltd. “Our intelligent cold storage and streamlined customs processes have significantly enhanced efficiency.”

The facility maintains temperatures from minus 25 degrees Celsius to 15 degrees Celsius, and is equipped with 11 dedicated loading and unloading platforms directly linked to refrigerated trucks. “This reduces exposure time and minimizes quality loss,” Tan explained. 

Equipped with Internet of Things technology, the system enables real-time monitoring and remote control of temperature and humidity, ensuring optimal storage conditions and efficient logistics operations.

In the first nine months of this year, the cold storage facility of Shenzhen Airport International Cargo Terminal Co., Ltd. handled 31,000 tons of perishable goods, including chilled seafood, live produce, and fruit, up 36 percent year on year, accounting for over 48 percent of total inbound cargo.

Nationwide, cold storage investment reached 22.3 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a 7.67 percent increase year on year. By the end of June, China’s total cold storage capacity stood at 260 million cubic meters, equivalent to about 104 million tons, marking a 6.12 percent year-on-year rise.

The growth of fresh food e-commerce and chain catering is also driving surging demand for urban cold-chain delivery, leading to a boom in refrigerated truck sales. According to CFLP, 29,474 refrigerated trucks were sold in the first half of this year, up 18.19 percent year on year. Notably, 10,548 of these were new energy vehicles, an impressive 119.61 percent increase.

New energy light trucks, offering extended range and improved performance, are increasingly deployed for both short-haul urban deliveries and intercity routes.

“Orders for Yutong’s light trucks have surged, with our production lines fully booked through December,” said Wang Le, head of marketing of the light truck subsidiary of Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer Yutong. “We’re introducing models with larger batteries and longer ranges. These upgrades drove a 60 percent year-on-year increase in our cold-chain truck sales during the first eight months of this year.”

By Zhang Wen, People’s Daily

As dawn breaks over the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, sand control workers are already at work. They spread bundles of wheat straw, press them into the sand, and shape them into neat squares. Across the vast sea of dunes, these crisscrossing “grids” of straw quietly take root, weaving a net that holds back the drifting sands.

The “wheat straw grid” is a sand-fixing method uniquely developed in China. Each small square stabilizes sand, conserves moisture, and reduces wind erosion. This innovation not only ensures the safe operation of the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway but also builds an ecological shield that safeguards China’s northwest from desert encroachment.

Driving from Zhongwei in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region into the Tengger Desert, one sees vast dunes clothed in a gray-green “checkered shirt.” Up close, each square of straw firmly anchors the shifting sands. Inside the grids, shrubs like Caragana and sea buckthorn sway in the wind, adding vibrant green to the once-barren landscape.

This area was once among the worst-affected regions by wind and sand disasters in China. In the 1950s, after countless experiments, Chinese scientists and sand control workers in Zhongwei devised this pioneering technique — laying locally available wheat straw in square patterns on the sand to form interlocking protective belts. Since then, generations of sand control workers have created the miracle of “man advancing, sand retreating,” contributing Chinese experience to the global fight against desertification.

The method is as ingenious as it is practical. Workers place bundles of wheat straw on the sand in square patterns, pressing each bundle halfway into the ground with a shovel, and pushing sand toward the roots to keep the exposed straw upright.

When construction began on the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway in 1954, a 55-kilometer stretch in Zhongwei had to cross the Tengger Desert six times. Preventing windblown sand from burying the tracks became a top priority.

“At first, we tried covering the surface with pebbles, mixing asphalt with sand, and laying reed mats, but none worked well,” recalled Tang Ximing, a senior forestry engineer with the Zhongwei state-owned forestry farm. 

To stabilize the surface and help vegetation take root, researchers experimented with layers of straw and clay, but the straw was easily blown away, Tang said.

After extensive trials, they discovered that forming one-meter-square straw grids effectively reduced wind speed, trapped sand, and stabilized the surface. 

“As the buried straw decomposes, it enriches the soil with organic matter, fostering microbial and plant growth. Over time, it forms a thin layer of biological soil crust,” Tang explained, adding that with this crust, shrubs can be planted, and the desert gradually transforms.

From then on, this low-cost and easy-to-apply method spread widely across the Tengger Desert. Over the past 70 years, more than 430,000 mu (about 28,666 hectares) of straw grids have been laid in Ningxia’s section of the desert, and over 100 million sand-loving plants have been cultivated.

Today, Zhongwei has totally put desertification in control. The Tengger Desert has retreated 25 kilometers, while a 42-kilometer-long, 800-meter-wide sand control belt comprised by straw grids, shrubs, and trees now protects the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway.

Driven by technology, sand control has become increasingly mechanized and automated. In 2021, Zhongwei introduced a brush-type mesh rope barrier system with mechanical installation, improving efficiency by more than 60 percent and extending the service life from two years to five or six. A newly developed multifunctional sand-fixing vehicle can lay 8.5 mu of wheat straw grids per hour, while drones and electric planting tools are now used for post-installation maintenance.

Since the 1980s, the Zhongwei method has been applied far beyond the Tengger Desert. It is seen along the Gantang-Wuwei Railway and Qinghai-Xizang Railway, and has also become a symbol of China’s ecological cooperation with the world. In 1994, Zhongwei sand stabilization tree farm was enlisted in the Global 500 Roll of Honor for Environmental Achievement established by United Nations Environment Programme. Over the years, hundreds of experts from more than 50 countries and regions have visited the tree farm, calling it a miracle sand control in human history.

Today, areas once desolate and lifeless have become tourist attractions, thanks largely to the wheat straw grids. “Along the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway’s sand control zone, we’ve established a desert plant garden, increasing the number of plant species from fewer than 25 in the 1950s to more than 450 today,” said Sun Yanlin from Zhongwei’s culture and tourism department. The vast sea of sand has turned green, attracting great bustards, golden eagles, steppe eagles, swans, red foxes, and other wildlife.

Building on ecological restoration, nearby towns and villages have developed integrated models combining agriculture, culture, and tourism. In 2024, Shapotou scenic area in Zhongwei received 1.46 million visitors, generating total tourism revenue of 428 million yuan ($60.6 million).

By Ouyang Jie, People’s Daily

At 5 a.m., morning mist still blanketed the citrus orchards in Yiling district of Yichang, central China’s Hubei province. Farmers carefully picked oranges, sorted them, attached traceable export tags, and loaded the fruit onto refrigerated trucks.

Two days later, the trucks arrived at the Horgos highway port on the China-Kazakhstan border, where a “green channel” expedited customs clearance for agricultural products. By noon, the fresh, high-quality oranges were delivered to a distribution center in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

This cross-border journey vividly illustrates how China’s inland regions are advancing toward the forefront of opening up. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, in 2024, the total import and export volume of China’s western region exceeded 4 trillion yuan ($561.68 billion) for the first time, accounting for 9.2 percent of the country’s total foreign trade. In the first three quarters of this year, trade from the western region reached 3.21 trillion yuan, up 10.2 percent year on year.

The transformation of China’s inland regions represents more than a geographical breakthrough but a profound shift in development philosophy and economic growth models. By leveraging corridor-based connectivity, fostering coordinated regional development and adopting innovative approaches, these regions are becoming key engines of China’s broader opening-up agenda.

Expanding international logistics corridors broadens the landscape of opening up. 

While coastal provinces have traditionally driven China’s export growth, the rise of international logistics corridors is enabling inland areas to connect directly with global markets by both land and sea. These developments are helping integrate inland hubs into China’s high-standard opening-up framework and creating stronger linkages between the eastern and western regions.

For instance, the Yellow River Land-Sea Corridor connects nine provinces and autonomous regions, facilitating the transport of engineering equipment, machinery, and agricultural products to international ports. Similarly, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor links the Silk Road Economic Belt with the Yangtze River Economic Belt, enabling high-quality goods from central and western China to reach Southeast Asian markets efficiently. 

According to customs data, in the first three quarters of 2024, trade through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor totaled 611.5 billion yuan, up 19.3 percent year on year, contributing 3.4 percentage points to the overall growth of foreign trade in the western region.

Industrial synergy drives coordinated regional development. 

Improved logistics infrastructure is facilitating the smooth flow of industrial and supply chains, allowing inland regions to transform locational challenges into competitive advantages. These regions are now attracting industrial transfers and upgrading their economic structure.

In the comprehensive bonded zone of Horgos in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, a fur clothing company from Hebei province in north China has established a full-service industrial platform, attracting both enterprises and technical experts from the east to train local workers, thus anchoring a new industry in a border area.

Meanwhile, in Shule county, Kashgar, Xinjiang, a fishing gear company from east China’s Shandong province has established a production base for outdoor sports equipment. With 13 upstream and downstream enterprises now operating in the cluster, the base has created jobs for more than 2,700 local residents. Products such as high-end carbon fiber fishing rods, bicycles, and fishing platforms are being exported to Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. These industrial upgrades, fueled by modern logistics, are injecting vitality into the inland economy and promoting more balanced regional development.

Institutional reform and innovation improve the business environment. 

Logistics and industrial growth are underpinned by continuous improvements to the institutional environment. This year, China’s General Administration of Customs, together with 20 other departments and institutions, launched a special action to facilitate cross-border trade. Targeted policy measures have accelerated customs clearance and improved logistical efficiency.

From the western border regions to the inland heartland, a rapidly expanding network of international logistics corridors is redefining China’s opening-up landscape, driving industrial transformation and promoting deeper integration into global trade.