Jimo sample of "Tuohuangniu" farming and foreign trade going abroad

In July of this year, the import and export of Jimo District in Qingdao City reached 4.26 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.8%.

On this land with the historical gene of "Fire Bull Formation", traditional industries are quietly undergoing changes. Qingdao Wandelong Textile Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Wandelong) is an important window to observe this transformation and change.

Jimo people have a "pioneering spirit" in their bones: they have the drive to challenge, endurance, and an unyielding stubbornness that refuses to give up. From textile and clothing to automobile manufacturing, from selling products to selling solutions, from OEM manufacturing to brand rights protection, the traditional industries in Jimo District are undergoing a silent and profound self evolution.

Expanding production capacity overseas, leaving roots in their homeland

Textile and clothing are the traditional household assets of Jimo District. By 2025, there will be over 2800 textile and clothing enterprises in the district, with an annual production of 800 million pieces of clothing, and 85 large-scale enterprises with an annual output value of nearly 14.6 billion yuan. But the pressure is also great: the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar has temporarily risen above 6.8, old workers are gradually retiring, and young labor force cannot be recruited. The account calculated by Song Xianrui, the head of the import and export department of Qingdao Xueda Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Xueda), is a common problem for the entire industry.

At the beginning of this year, Xueda signed its second factory "Haorui" in Cambodia. The first phase recruited 600 workers and produced 6 million pieces of clothing annually, with only 9 months from signing the contract to production; After completion, the annual production capacity can reach 20 million pieces. What's interesting is not how the factory moved out, but how it "moved": knitting machine components, fabrics, and accessories from overseas factories are still purchased domestically; Domestic factories are freeing up their resources and collaborating with top suppliers to develop high value-added new products. Between retreating and advancing, low value-added processing links are transferred outward, while research and development, design, and core material supply are firmly retained locally.

The automotive industry has taken bigger strides. Jimo District has gathered four major vehicle production bases, namely FAW Volkswagen East China Base, FAW Jiefang Commercial Vehicle Base, FAW Jiefang New Energy Light Truck and Chery Qingdao Base, as well as more than 400 component enterprises. By 2025, the cumulative vehicle output will exceed 3.6 million units. The KD workshop of Chery Qingdao base has been fully put into operation, and FAW Jiefang's export network covers 108 countries and regions. This year's overseas export plan is to reach 60000 units. KD component assembly and reverse supply of core components to Volkswagen's global factories - the same logic: low value-added links are moderately relocated, while high-tech parts are firmly held in hand. This is the first step taken by Jimo District from "cost advantage" to "technology premium".

From selling products to selling solutions, restructuring pricing power through technology going global

Expanding production capacity overseas is defense, while technological breakthroughs are offense.

In the workshop of Qingdao Jiuhe Heavy Industry Machinery Co., Ltd., a batch of high-altitude work vehicles are undergoing the final low-temperature resistance performance test. In extremely cold environments, ordinary hydraulic systems can become viscous or even solidify. Enterprises have specifically developed low-temperature start-up and insulation solutions; For the European and American markets, we have adjusted the external dimensions and load-bearing capacity. Do not engage in price reduction business, customize and develop according to "one country, one policy". At present, the company's products have entered more than 80 countries, and the export volume continues to grow. The reason why customers are willing to pay is simple: the equipment can be used immediately and is easy to use.

Shandong Yaqing Electric Power Technology Co., Ltd. has also tasted the sweetness. The enterprise has set up specialized workshops for overseas orders and added two automated production lines, resulting in a year-on-year increase of about 20% in exports. They are no longer selling a transformer, but a complete package of transformers, distribution cabinets, and energy storage systems.

Qingdao Cooltech Intelligent Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Cooltech) has gone further. KuTe's overseas revenue in 2025 is 323 million yuan, nearly half of the total revenue. Realizing 'one product is one order' on the production line constitutes the smallest production unit for clothing customization.

Brand going global, from OEM to rights protection

Brand going global solves the problem of discourse power.

In the early years, Qingdao Kelly Rongtong Clothing Co., Ltd. sold a piece of OEM clothing for 15 yuan, and after the other party affixed the brand, one piece could be sold for 150 yuan. No matter how well the OEM is done, the main profit always lies with the brand. In 2009, the company transformed into an independent brand, shifting from an "OEM" to an "authorizer".

Qingdao Yingpaisi Health Technology Co., Ltd. has taken a similar path. The company has been engaged in "drawing processing" for 30 years, and now it is providing OEM services for the brand, stabilizing the basic market, while also expanding its own brand IMPULSE into Europe and the Asia Pacific region. In 2025, the company's overseas sales revenue will be 904 million yuan, accounting for 76.92% of the total revenue, and the revenue from independent products will increase by 7.09% year-on-year.

Ecological protection, government support

The confidence of Jimo District to go global does not only come from the enterprising spirit of enterprises.

The Commerce Bureau of Jimo District promotes the "Cross border E-commerce+Industrial Belt" model, helping enterprises shift from "domestic trade thinking" to "foreign trade logic". By 2025, the import and export value of cross-border e-commerce in the entire region will reach 878 million yuan. Independent website construction and overseas compliance guidance have become the "standard" for more and more enterprises. Customs has opened green channels such as "early declaration", priority inspection and release, and "appointment for overtime" during non working hours for urgent orders such as World Cup flags. The tax department focuses on the RCEP policy, and the tariff on FAW Jiefang's dump trucks exported to Indonesia has been directly reduced from 5% to zero. These measures are not aimed at 'flood irrigation', but at the pain points of the industry.

Deeper protection lies in the fields of intellectual property and risk warning. The Jimo District Market Supervision Administration has established an overseas dispute response guidance and liaison station, providing small and medium-sized enterprises with a place to find when facing unfamiliar overseas legal environments. From monitoring and warning to expert judgment, from litigation strategy to judgment execution, the resource platform built by the government has significantly reduced the threshold for enterprises to protect their rights overseas.

In Jimo District, there are still many seemingly insignificant enterprises like Wandelong that are deeply embedded in the global supply chain. They are not large in scale, but they have achieved irreplaceability in their respective niche fields.

The person in charge of Jimo District Commerce Bureau revealed that there are over 2000 enterprises in the district with import and export performance this year, among which the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises with annual export value exceeding 100 million yuan is steadily increasing. The common feature of these 'invisible champions' is not chasing trends, not blindly expanding, only doing one thing for decades, polishing products, technology, and services to the extreme. It is these "capillaries" scattered along the industrial belt that constitute the most resilient chassis of foreign trade in Jimo District. What the government is doing is to keep these capillaries open - promoting the "cross-border e-commerce+overseas warehouse" model, helping enterprises build pre warehouses at the entrance of major markets; Establish a "whitelist" system for key enterprises and provide priority support in customs clearance, tax refund, credit insurance and other aspects. When every capillary is full of vitality, the whole tree naturally flourishes with branches and leaves.

The essence of the "pioneering spirit" embodied by the people of Jimo lies in their unwillingness to wait and rely, and their courage to venture and fight. The role of the government is to provide fertile ground for this group of cows to cultivate deeply - reducing institutional transaction costs, clearing obstacles to going abroad, and transforming from managers to escorts.

The valuable aspect of the Jimo District sample is that it does not rely on special policies or accidental opportunities, but on a replicable and promotable service system. Deepening the roots, widening the road, and building a complete ecology are the deep passwords for Jimo District's foreign trade to cross the cycle.