A worker makes a violin at a workshop in Huangqiao Town of Taixing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 3, 2020. As a famed bowed string instruments manufacturing area in China, Huangqiao Town now has over 200 manufacturers and companies with more than 35,000 employees in the industry. Over 700,000 bowed string instruments are produced here every year, accounting for about 30 percent of the total number made in the world. (Photo by Tang Dehong/Xinhua)

As global firms are coping with their supply-chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, China remains the most attractive outside their main country of location, according to the latest survey by credit insurer Euler Hermes. 

The survey found that some foreign companies are finding new suppliers at home, but excluding each country's main location, the most attractive markets overall were China, followed by Australia, Canada, France, Belgium and the UK. 

Among 1,181 companies in Germany, the US, the UK, France and Italy, China appears in the top three for 18 percent of the surveyed companies considering changing suppliers.

Companies based in Germany, Italy and the UK mentioned China as their first choice significantly more than others, according to the survey.

The report cited a preference toward a continuation of current supply chain dynamics, as well as a search for cost-effectiveness in times of great uncertainty, as possible reasons behind the choice.

The survey also found that 30 percent of UK companies that are considering changing suppliers mention China in the top three, which is significantly higher than the US (12 percent), France (14 percent) and Italy (18 percent). When excluding companies that selected their main country, UK companies' preference for China was even more apparent, it said.

Companies in several sectors such as vehicles, chemicals, information technology, technology and telecoms see China as the supply partner of choice, the survey said.

China remains an important offshore base for manufacturing, and 21 percent of companies in the survey listed China in the top three locations where production sites are based (excluding their main country of location), it said.

Global companies could continue to consider establishing production sites in China to provide for the country's large and growing domestic demand, and as authorities continue to loosen restrictions in order to attract foreign direct investment.

China's supply chains will be more resilient in the next five years with complete manufacturing systems, Zhao Ping, vice president of the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, told Global Times. 

She added that although China's labor costs may rise in the long term, total costs will be competitive compared with other countries because of high production efficiency, lower logistics costs, continuing research and development of products, a huge market, and a stable political environment.


Newspaper headline: China most attractive supplier worldwide as restrictions ease, global survey finds