A traditional ceramics hub in Fujian province, Dehua has gained a new lease of life, as local businesses become increasingly aware of brand building and shift their focus from expanding production to improving quality, local officials said.

Together with Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province and Liling in Hunan province, the ancient county under the administration of Quanzhou has served as a major national porcelain production center since ancient times.

Porcelain originating from Dehua was one of the three hit exports on the ancient Maritime Silk Road, which started from Fujian.

The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013 has brought about new opportunities for this long-standing signature product of the county. The initiative involves the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Dehua county, mostly comprising rural areas, has a population of 330,000, of whom more than 100,000 are involved in the ceramics industry, working for approximately 2,600 businesses.

Roughly 80 percent of their products are for the export market, shipping to more than 190 countries and regions, according to Liu Huihuang, a member of the Standing Committee of the county's Party committee.

Shunmei Group, a major ceramic ware manufacturer, said its products are exported to more than 80 countries and regions, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"The Maritime Silk Road once facilitated China-made porcelain products going global, yet we cannot rest on our laurels and just produce for the sake of maintaining cultural heritage," Zheng Pengfei, general manager of the company, told Quanzhou Evening News.

"Local companies need to target their production for the demands of the international market and enable modern Chinese ceramics products to go global," Zheng said.

To encourage more businesses to go overseas, the county government has released a series of policies in recent years to call for proprietary innovation and technological improvement, and to promote the growth of local small and medium-sized businesses.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine granted the county the status of a national quality safety demonstration area for ceramics exports at the end of last year, the first of its kind in the province.

Liu said the construction of the national demonstration zone is conducive to improving quality safety management and the promotion of local brands.

Since the national zone was approved, local ceramics manufacturers have put a greater emphasis on quality control and brand building.

Companies in Dehua have 13 international trademarks filed through the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and six well-known Chinese trademarks.

E-commerce has also boosted the flourishing sales of Dehua-made ceramics and porcelain products.

More than 100 online businesses based in Dehua are involved in foreign trade, generating more than 50 billion yuan ($7.63 billion) in total annual sales, ranking it No 20 among the 25 most dynamic counties in China in terms of e-commerce startups, local officials said.

Government data show that ceramic exports from Dehua maintained growth in terms of both quantity and value over the past three years consecutively, making it the largest ceramics exporter in the province and the second largest in the country.

(China Daily 09/05/2017 page4)