logo
China meeting global demand for cooling products amid heat waves

China meeting global demand for cooling products amid heat waves

The Star4 days ago
China's 'summer economy' is gaining momentum, with domestic manufacturers racing to meet soaring overseas demand for cooling solutions. — China Daily
BEIJING: Inside the bustling workshop of Dongguan JHS Electrical Co Ltd, a manufacturer of mobile air conditioners and dehumidifiers in Dongguan, South China's Guangdong province, the hum of machines filled the air as workers move swiftly through the assembly line, fastening, inspecting and packaging in early July.
A total of 458 portable air conditioners rolled off the production line, neatly boxed and ready for export to Mexico.
As sweltering heat waves grip many regions around the world, China's 'summer economy' is gaining momentum, with domestic manufacturers racing to meet soaring overseas demand for cooling solutions.
With operations spanning more than 40 countries and regions, the Chinese company has established itself as a major player in the global cooling equipment market.
'Our portable air conditioners are independently developed, compact in size, energy-efficient and offer strong cooling performance,' said Gao Yueping, the company's chairman.
'Compared with traditional wall-mounted units, they are more cost-effective to install and far more portable.'
Overseas demand has exceeded the company's expectations this year. By the end of April, its orders for portable air conditioners had surged 10% year-on-year, data from Huangpu Customs showed.
With a new 80,000 sq m factory becoming fully operational earlier this year, Dongguan JHS Electrical expects total orders in 2025 to exceed 2.3 million units, generating an estimated output value of 1.6 billion yuan.
To cope with unilateral trade policies in the United States, Gao said his company has expanded into new markets such as South-East Asia, where demand, particularly in less urbanised areas, is rising steadily.
While production ramps up in southern China, activity in the eastern part of the country is just as intense.
Roughly 1,400km from Dongguan, an air conditioner factory owned by Trane Air Conditioning Systems (China) Co Ltd in Taicang, East China's Jiangsu province, is also working at full capacity to ship products overseas as global demand for air conditioning systems continues to grow. — China Daily/ANN
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Over 100 Chinese enterprises target Zambia's premier show to boost business
Over 100 Chinese enterprises target Zambia's premier show to boost business

The Star

time5 hours ago

  • The Star

Over 100 Chinese enterprises target Zambia's premier show to boost business

LUSAKA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- About 100 Chinese companies are expected to exhibit at the 97th Agricultural and Commercial Show to boost business ties, the Zambia Chinese Association (ZCA) revealed on Friday. The enterprises will showcase their products and services under the Chinese Pavilion organized by the ZCA, during the event scheduled to run from July 30 to August 4 in Lusaka, the Zambian capital. This year's show will be themed "Adapting to Climate Change." ZCA General Secretary Wang Chunyan said the delegation will include about 80 enterprises already operating in Zambia, along with around 20 companies from China's Jiangxi Province. "It is a great platform to support China-Zambia economic cooperation and help Chinese companies grow," Wang said. She noted that the association has participated under the Chinese Pavilion for the past three years, a move that has yielded positive results for participating companies and strengthened business cooperation between China and Zambia. Bernard Moonga, president of the Agricultural and Commercial Cooperative Society of Zambia Limited, the organizer of the event, commended the ZCA for its sponsorship. According to Moonga, China is among the countries with the largest exhibitors at this year's show. The show presents an opportunity for Chinese enterprises to not only showcase their products but also forge new business relationships in Zambia, he added.

Tesla tops Chinese rivals in assisted driving tests
Tesla tops Chinese rivals in assisted driving tests

The Sun

time8 hours ago

  • The Sun

Tesla tops Chinese rivals in assisted driving tests

BEIJING: Billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla outperformed Chinese rivals including BYD, Xiaomi and Huawei in a test of assisted driving technologies on China's highways, according to results published by TikTok owner Bytedance's auto unit Dcar. State television CCTV and Dcar jointly tested the level 2 advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) from more than 20 electric vehicle brands in China and rated their performance in a series of scenarios with higher risks of accidents on highways and urban traffics. The test videos posted by Dcar went viral on Chinese social media. Tesla scored the best in the highway test among 36 models, with its Model 3 and Model X passing five out of six scenarios, while BYD's Denza Z9GT and Huawei-backed Aito M9 failed in three scenarios. Xiaomi's SU7 passed in one of six. In a Weibo post on Friday, HIMA, the Huawei-led auto alliance, said it declined to comment on the 'so-called test.' BYD and Xiaomi didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. 'Due to laws against data export, Tesla achieved the top results in China despite having no local training data,' Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on his X account on Friday. Tesla has been caught in what Musk described as a 'quandary', as the U.S. doesn't allow its AI software to be trained in China, while the automaker has been seeking approval from Chinese regulators to transfer data saved locally in Shanghai back to the United States for algorithm training. Domestic brands should face up to the gap with Tesla in autonomous driving, Wang Yao, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told an auto forum in Shanghai earlier this month. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, in remarks after a Tesla Model Y delivered itself from an Austin, Texas factory to its owner in the area roughly 30 minutes away, said 'we will continue to learn' from Tesla which has led industry trends. The test came amid growing safety concerns in China about the ADAS after a highway accident involving a Xiaomi SU7 killed three people in March. State media have blamed misleading promotions for resulting drivers' improper uses of the technologies and the authorities have banned the uses of terms such as 'smart driving' and 'autonomous driving' for marketing driving assistance features. The public security ministry said this week that the country will set out legal responsibilities related to the technology that has yet achieved true autonomous driving. Drivers face safety and legal risks if they are distracted in accidents when assisted driving is turned on, the ministry warned. Xiaomi had seen a slump in new EV orders as a consumer backlash began in April following the fatal trash, but the impact seems short-lived, with its new electric SUV receiving exceptionally strong initially orders after it went on sale last month. Tesla's sales of its China-made electric vehicles edged up 0.8% in June from a year earlier, snapping an eight-month losing streak, but they continued to fall on a quarterly basis in the face of lower-cost new models from its Chinese rivals. Tesla's assisted driving suite is available in China for nearly $9,000, while the technology from its local rivals including Xiaomi and BYD is without extra cost, pressuring the U.S. automaker's self-driving future. Tesla's technology approach relies solely on cameras as sensors and artificial intelligence while most Chinese peers including BYD use lidar (light detection and range sensors) additionally to ensure performance. ($1 = 7.1624 Chinese yuan renminbi) - Reuters

US tariffs – Short-term shock, long-term opportunities for Asean real estate industry
US tariffs – Short-term shock, long-term opportunities for Asean real estate industry

The Sun

time8 hours ago

  • The Sun

US tariffs – Short-term shock, long-term opportunities for Asean real estate industry

KUALA LUMPUR: While the US reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2 have unsettled equity markets and export-driven sectors, property leaders believe the disruption could accelerate the adoption of digital technologies, sustainable construction practices and regional trade integration within Asean's real estate landscape. During a panel discussion titled 'Industry Countermeasures: Absorbing the Recent US Tariff Shockwaves' at the Asean Real Estate Conference and the Architecture, Interior Design and Building Exhibition 2025, three prominent figures – Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) president Datuk Ho Han Sang, PropertyGuru Group's head of real estate intelligence Dr Lee Nai Jia and United Overseas Bank senior Asean economist Enrico Tanuwidjaja – said that while the new US tariffs – which are scheduled to go into effect on Aug 1 – bring short-term uncertainty, they also present potential long-term opportunities for the industry. Ho said Malaysian developers are bracing for softer demand in industrial, commercial and high-end residential segments as exporters negotiate who will absorb the higher costs. 'Profit margins will be squeezed as importers and exporters split the burden,' he told the audience. 'With higher prices, purchase volumes will drop and investors will be more cautious. Slower sales mean cash flow problems, and cash flow is reality; without it, there is no oxygen.' Ho noted that while most construction inputs are locally sourced, imported steel, aluminium and glass may see price pressure if the ringgit weakens. The first sectors to feel the pinch, he said, will be export-driven industries scaling back factory expansions, reducing office space needs, and curbing retail growth. Yet he also flagged bright spots. 'Tariffs on Chinese goods could redirect manufacturing to Asean, and a weaker ringgit may attract buyers from Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan into projects like Penang Silicon Island or the Johor‑Singapore Special Economic Zone.' Lee observed similar patterns across Asean. Using PropertyGuru's platform data, he described a three‑stage reaction: initial shock, quick normalisation and preference recalibration. 'After the announcement, views on listings in Singapore plunged, while Malaysia and Vietnam saw smaller dips,' he said. 'But people quickly remembered that housing is a long‑term need. What changed is their behaviour where buyers are gravitating towards more affordable, value‑driven homes.' He highlighted Singapore's Linton Woods project, which sold 94% of units despite tariffs, thanks to its proximity to transport and employment hubs. 'Integrated developments are resilient,' Lee said. 'The key is offering value and convenience.' He added that confidence in governance, stemming from Vietnam's policy reforms to Malaysia's interest rate cuts, continues to underpin the region's housing markets. From a macro lens, Tanuwidjaja said the tariffs underline Asean's need to boost internal trade and reduce dependence on external markets. 'Intra‑Asean trade is only 17%, compared to over 40% in the EU,' he said. 'We need to integrate, use local currency settlements, harmonise regulations and build supply chains that loop within the region.' While describing Asean as 'resilient', he warned that volatility will persist throughout the current US administration: 'Businesses must plan for turbulence, not a quick fix. The next midterm election in 2026 is the next real pivot.' He also urged governments and developers to prepare for technological disruption. 'AI will transform customer service, marketing and operations. We must retrain workers for higher‑skill roles like architecture, design thinking, project integration, because low‑skill roles are most at risk.' All three panellists stressed innovation as a pathway through the turbulence. Ho highlighted Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD), a platform that digitally unites 180 industry stakeholders to cut errors and speed approvals, as a game‑changer already deployed in Singapore. 'IDD minimises waste and aligns everyone from engineers to regulators,' he said. 'Speedier approvals, like Penang's recent 36‑day affordable housing clearance, reduce costs and help projects move despite headwinds.' Green technology also surfaced as a competitive advantage. Lee pointed to Vietnam's success in renewable energy during the first trade war. 'This is our chance to lead with climate‑sensitive design and ESG frameworks tailored to Southeast Asia's climate,' he said. Looking beyond domestic markets, Ho urged Malaysian developers to revive their overseas promotion campaigns, targeting buyers from Hong Kong, China, and Singapore. 'Our products are internationally recognised and competitively priced by Asean standards,' he said. 'With stable governance and award‑winning townships, Malaysia can stand out.' Tanuwidjaja echoed the sentiment: 'The higher tide will lift all boats but only if Asean rows together.' While uncertainties remain, the panel's tone shifted from caution to resolve. The tariffs, they argued, could catalyse Asean's next phase of growth by forcing integration, accelerating digital tools and prioritising sustainability. 'If you don't change, you'll be changed,' Ho said. 'This is the moment for our industry to reinvent and emerge stronger.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store