Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

As autumn deepens across Northeast China, pine cones are ripening - and with them, a quiet boom is unfolding in Meihekou, a small city in Northeast China's Jilin Province. According to CCTV News on Thursday, the city's pine nut processing volume is expected to surpass 200,000 tons this year. Interestingly, although some have dubbed Meihekou "the global capital of the pine nut industry," the city itself is not a major producer of pine nuts. So what has enabled this small city to turn a humble forest product into a truly global business?

Despite not being a major pine nut-producing region - and lacking direct access to ports or major waterways - Meihekou has emerged as a key global hub for pine nut processing and distribution. Each harvest season, the city draws in raw materials not only from across China, but also from Russia, Mongolia, and Pakistan, according to CCTV News. Processed nuts then flow outward: Meihekou's pine nuts and other nuts are said to account for more than 70 percent of global market circulation, with exports reaching more than 40 countries and regions. 

In today's geopolitical climate, some - particularly in certain Western countries - frequently talk about "de-globalization," as if global supply chains could be neatly dismantled by political will. Yet for Meihekou, such rhetoric feels distant and abstract. Each pine nut that travels from forest to snack shelf around the world tells its own story - a testament to how deeply interconnected modern production has become. The global journey of this tiny nut serves as a reminder that economic globalization is not an ideology, but a lived reality. At the heart of this network lies Meihekou's modern manufacturing base, sustained by continuous technological innovation and a well-developed industrial ecosystem that keeps the chain intact.

Over the years, the city has developed a concentrated cluster of about 300 nut-processing enterprises, creating notable economies of scale. According to China News Service, after nearly half a century of development, the city's production of upstream equipment - including shelling and peeling machines - now accounts for more than 90 percent of the global market. This has allowed Meihekou to establish a complete industry chain, encompassing sorting, shelling, drying, roasting, advanced processing, and exports.

This industry chain has real-world significance. Pine cones have a long maturation cycle, and yields can fluctuate from year to year. Meihekou's modern industry offers a practical solution to this inherent instability. As CCTV News reports, local companies have adopted a strategy of "early procurement plus cold-chain storage," securing raw materials during the previous harvest season and storing them in refrigerated facilities. This approach allows them to buy low and deploy strategically, stabilizing costs despite market volatility.

The story of pine nuts is just one reflection of the quiet transformation under way in China's smaller cities and county-level local economies. Across the country, the growth of modern manufacturing has given rise to a range of local stories like Meihekou's - cases of steady adaptation, technical improvement, and deeper integration into global markets. Together, they offer a glimpse into how China's manufacturing landscape continues to evolve - in ways that continue to anchor China within global supply chains.

China's smaller cities and county-level local economies form the capillaries of its vast economic system. Their progress may be uneven, but it reveals the quiet potential that runs beneath the surface of China's development map. While the larger arteries of Chinese manufacturing - such as green industrial clusters - tend to draw more attention, smaller and less visible local economies play a complementary role, sustaining the vitality of China's broader industrial system.

Meihekou's rise in the pine nut trade illustrates this capillary strength of China's manufacturing network. Together with other local industries, it has helped make the country an integral part of global supply chains. Each shipment of pine nuts in or out of Meihekou reflects not only trade, but also the interdependence of international production. The city's experience shows that even in something as small as a pine nut, there is room for precision, innovation, and industrial sophistication.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn