Mainland Chinese manufacturers at a trade show in Hong Kong have been keen to diversify their markets towards the Middle East to mitigate the impact of the intensifying trade war.
More than 150,000 products were on display at the second phase of the Global Sources Hong Kong Shows held at the AsiaWorld-Expo from Friday to Monday, spanning categories such as mobile electronics, smart homes and lifestyle.
Among them was Doogee, a mainland manufacturer specialising in rugged smartphones designed to withstand extreme weather and rough environments, which said it was looking to diversify its markets amid the tariff war.
The firm cited one of their bestsellers – the S200X model – as an example. Priced at about US$300, the phone is compatible with the AI system developed by Google Gemini and different models support features such as projectors.
“Europe accounts for 60 per cent of our market, and the US 20 per cent,” Yuki Zhu, a spokeswoman for the company, said. “We’re looking at the Middle Eastern market to lessen the reliance on the US market. We export 200,000 tablets to the region every year.”
US President Donald Trump had imposed cumulative tariffs of 145 per cent on all Chinese goods over several rounds, with the White House also revealing the figure to be as high as 245 per cent on some goods.
