Resilient exporters ride the waves as competitors falter

In April, Shanghai's exports of technology products grew by 13.9 percent year-on-year, while mechanical and electronic exports soared by 17.2 percent.

By and large, the results were echoed in Zhejiang.

In the first quarter, exports of computer and telecommunications products grew by 18.4 percent amid slowing growth in its traditional sector of clothing and shoes.

But Guangdong province, the country's largest export engine, is still struggling to find a way to maintain its leading status.

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In the first five months of this year, its exports fell by 14.9 percent year-on-year to $229.4billion. Despite the drop, Guangdong remained the country's largest exporting province with a 26.2 percent share of total exports, with runner-up Jiangsu accounting for 13.5 percent.

Exports from labor-intensive manufacturers continued to grow in Guangdong, by 5.1 percent by June. But exports of mechanical and electronic goods, as well as high-tech products, which accounted for two-thirds of the province's total outbound goods, dropped by 18.9 percent and 30.3 percent, respectively.

Guangdong Governor Zhu Xiaodan said the province has been facing "larger than expected" pressure to achieve its economic growth target.

"This is a combined result of industries' long-term structural problems and the seasonal economic downturn," he said at a meeting to review the province's half-year performance.

Wang Wei, owner of Betta Footwear Factory, a Dongguan-based shoemaker, said: "There are still orders coming in, but it's hard for us to make profits."

Footwear prices remain low because of sluggish Western markets. As a result, many companies are not taking new orders.

"A lot of factory owners in the Pearl River Delta region, who started their businesses in the 1990s, have shut down their factories, and their children are not willing to carry on the family business," Wang added.

The better-performing exporters in the Yangtze River Delta region have achieved success due to a shift in business models years ago.

In Ningbo, an export-oriented city in Zhejiang, for example, companies that are thriving are those that adapted to change a decade ago.