"Made in Ningbo" Reinforces Industrial Chains While Accelerating Market Expansion in CEE

 

 

As year-end approaches, the intelligent production workshop of Ningbo SMR Huaxiang Automotive Mirrors Ltd. (SMR Ningbo) bustles with activity: newly imported micromotors are being rapidly assembled through automated production lines to power the core components of automotive rearview mirrors. "From January to November this year, we imported electromechanical products worth 22.243 million yuan from North Macedonia, with automotive parts imports surging 18-fold year-on-year," said the company's procurement director. "With a steady supply of critical production materials, our production lines can operate at full capacity."

 

 

Ningbo Customs opens a dedicated service window for CEE goods clearance. Photo by Yao Juping

 

 

As traditional supply chains face mounting pressure, Ningbo enterprises' import-export trade with emerging markets is demonstrating remarkable resilience. An increasing number of companies like SMR Ningbo are quietly reshaping their global sourcing landscape—moving away from dependence on a single market and instead accelerating a "diversified sourcing" strategy, turning to new partners in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and beyond to seek cost-effective and reliable alternative solutions.

The CEE region connects the European and Asian markets and serves as a hub for European manufacturing. It is also an integral part of the China-Europe automotive and pharmaceutical industrial and supply chains. Customs authorities from China, Hungary, Serbia, Greece, and North Macedonia—the five parties along the "1+4" China-Europe Land Sea Express Line—are strengthening collaborative regulatory frameworks and customs cooperation to jointly ensure the smooth flow of industrial, supply, and logistics chains. As a key anchor point, Ningbo Customs, leveraging the China-CEEC Customs Information Center, has established dedicated customs clearance channels for CEE goods both on-site and online, helping to facilitate the unobstructed operation of China-Europe industrial chains. According to Ningbo Customs statistics, bilateral trade between Ningbo and North Macedonia grew 21.4% year-on-year in the first 11 months of this year. Electromechanical products remain the primary commodities for import and export, serving as the main driver of bilateral trade expansion.

During the same period, Ningbo achieved bilateral trade with CEE countries valued at 54.07 billion yuan, marking a 4.1% year-on-year increase. Imports totaled 8.88 billion yuan, with high-tech products recording notable growth of 83.44 million yuan, up 36.3% year-on-year. Exports amounted to 45.19 billion yuan. Electromechanical products and apparel and clothing accessories, as traditional export commodities, continued to leverage their strengths, with exports of 29.9 billion yuan and 2.27 billion yuan respectively, both advancing 12.0% and 17.5% year-on-year. Exports of the "New Three" products—electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products—accelerated their market expansion across CEE, with exports surging 42.6% year-on-year.

As a key player in Ningbo's automotive mirror manufacturing sector, SMR Ningbo has been progressively expanding electromechanical product imports from North Macedonia in recent years. However, entering new markets brings fresh challenges: complex commodity classification, unfamiliarity with customs procedures, and others. In response, Ningbo Customs swiftly mobilized, establishing a specialized service team to conduct on-site research at the enterprise. Centered on North Macedonia's electromechanical product import policies, tariff application, inspection standards, and related matters, the team provided one-on-one policy briefings and declaration support, ensured timely resolution of complex issues, and proactively compiled key declaration requirements for core commodities such as micromotors and automotive parts, helping the enterprise overcome customs clearance barriers.

Recognizing enterprises' concentrated import categories and tight production schedules, Ningbo Customs further streamlined customs clearance procedures and vigorously promoted the "pre-declaration" model, reducing average clearance times and effectively ensuring swift inbound delivery and timely production startup of critical components. Powered by substantially improved import trade efficiency, enterprises including SMR Ningbo achieved explosive growth in automotive parts imports, furnishing robust support for supply chain optimization and enhanced core product competitiveness.

Ningbo is currently ramping up efforts to establish a "golden corridor" for economic and trade cooperation between China and CEE countries. Going ahead, Ningbo Customs will continue to center on enterprise needs, employing more targeted policy interpretation and more efficient customs clearance services to encourage greater numbers of Ningbo manufacturers to leverage the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to build more resilient and diversified global supply chain networks.

 

 

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