පිටරට වල ඉල්ලුම වැඩිවෙන 'චයිනා-ෂීක් ආර්ට් ටෝයිස්'

China-chic art toys heat up in overseas markets

With the continuous interest in traditional culture, the "new Chinese style" of art toys blending traditional and modern elements is in the spotlight and increasingly gaining popularity in the overseas markets.

A store of China-chic toys was opened recently in a large shopping mall in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, attracting throngs of consumers to line up.

With a total of six stores opened in Thailand, the operating income of a single store exceeded 10 million yuan (about 1.37 million U.S. dollars) on the opening day, according to Wang Tao, general manager of the Public Affairs Department of the toy company.

The revenue of overseas business jumped by more than 200 percent in the first quarter of 2024, and it is expected that the high growth of the first quarter will continue in the second quarter, said Wang.

Some tourists from Southeast Asian countries chose to buy toys featuring Chinese traditional culture when traveling to Shenzhen City in south China's Guangdong Province.

Some popular toys have been sold out in Thailand, said Thai tourist Buda who was on a business trip in Shenzhen.

"Now these toys are pretty popular, and the prices in Thailand have been very high. And they are not available in Thailand right now, so people come here to buy. I spent about 1300 yuan," said Buda.

To meet the growing demand in markets abroad, a toy manufacturer in China said their factory was running at full capacity and were planning to expand its production capacity.

The company started tapping into overseas markets last year, said Liang Mingqing, production chief of the company.

"Now, we ship to overseas markets one or two times a week, with two or three containers each time. Now we're working 24 hours a day, with two shifts arranged and machines running continuously. The production schedule of our orders has been extended to December this year, and the production capacity still cannot meet the demand of the whole market," said Liang.

"In the first five months of this year, the value of toys exported by nationwide enterprises from Shenzhen Port stood at 55.93 billion yuan, an increase of 6.5 percent. Relying on the rich international route resources of Shenzhen Port, a large number of art toy producers have chosen to export from Shenzhen," said Wang Kai, head of the General Division under the Comprehensive Business Department of Shenzhen Customs.

In addition to the gaps in the overseas markets, the improvement of industrial chain is another key for Chinese toy producers to expand their business in foreign countries.

In Dongguan City of Guangdong, a complete industrial chain, including various links such as design, raw material supply, mold processing, parts manufacturing and assembly, has taken shape, with the independent design capabilities and production accuracy improved over the past few years.

"Up to now, there are more than 4,000 toy producers and nearly 1,500 upstream and downstream supporting enterprises in Dongguan. It is the largest toy export base in China. And 80 percent of the world's animation derivatives are made in China, with more than one-third of them produced in Dongguan. At present, the art toys produced here are exported to more than 100 countries and regions around the world," said Yang Longwen, head of the Enterprise Authentication Center at the Dongguan Customs House affiliated to Huangpu Customs District.

A report published by the National Academy of Economic Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Science showed that the global market size of art toy industry is expected to reach 44.8 billion U.S. dollars by 2024.

As a major producer and exporter of art toys, China will make tailored development and research and continue to expand exports in accordance with the characteristics of different overseas markets.

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