Doing business in China during Covid-19
In recent months Covid-19 has created a global crisis. Therefore, at the end of March 2020 the Chinese government took a number of quarantine measures to limit the spread of the virus. As a result, doing business in China requires more attention than usual.
Read on and you will find out more about these measures and their effect on the Chinese supply chain. Also, we provide you with some practical information to maintain the quality of imported products from China.
Covid-19 and the Chinese production line
China was the first country to be affected by Covid-19. Soon after the outbreak, the Chinese government came up with some pretty strict measures to keep the virus under control. As a result the Chinese production line and important transport channels came to a temporary halt.
The city of Wuhan and its residents were especially hard hit. Because of the lockdown measures, Chinese factory workers were forced not to return to the city where they worked; due to the Chinese New Year, most Chinese were with their families in their hometown. If they could travel, they were usually placed in quarantine after their return.
Many Western companies also noticed the effect of Covid-19 because of the entry ban for foreigners that has been in force in China since 28 March 2020. In addition, all foreign travelers are immediately tested for corona upon arrival. The Chinese government then quarantines everyone for two weeks before they enter the country.
Consequences for Western companies and entrepreneurs
The supply chain in China is running at full speed once again. This is good news for the supply of companies and entrepreneurs with Chinese business partners. However, the way Western companies do business in China will change permanently. Also, the entry quarantine measures of the Chinese government remain active. This makes it a lot more difficult to check, for example, the quality of products imported from China.
The entry ban makes it virtually impossible for Western entrepreneurs to travel to the manufacturer in China and carry out certain quality inspections themselves. Furthermore, face-to-face contact with most of the Chinese business partners is most desirable, while the current state of affairs requires flawless communication between importers and suppliers.
Video calls are a solution, but are not ideal when it comes to details such as quality. As a result, more and more companies will choose to monitor the Chinese production line remotely in the future. A well-thought-out choice that could save self-employed entrepreneurs a lot of valuable time.
Doing business in China 2.0
Outsourcing quality inspections to an external partner with a broad and reliable network in China can be a sustainable solution. Hereby, it is important that a partner is chosen with contacts in and out of China.
In this way, the chance of possible miscommunication or other complications during the production process is kept to a minimum. In practice, some suppliers choose to save on production costs with a second or third delivery. Consider, for example, the use of cheaper raw materials, or having less skilled employees perform exactly the same activities.
A partner with plenty of knowledge of the culture and the way of doing business in China can maintain contact with business partners, prevent production errors and monitor suppliers. In this way, the quality of import products is guaranteed during the entire purchasing process. Are you looking for a suitable solution to do business efficiently in China during these difficult times? Please contact Quality Control China.