Growing export opportunities to BRICS member countries

Local enterprises in East China's Jiangsu province have leveraged the opportunities created through BRICS and expanded their export businesses with related member countries.

With BRICS expanding its membership earlier this year, the mechanism has increasingly become an important platform for developing countries to strengthen their cooperation.

Jiangsu has continued to export various high-end equipment manufacturing products to other BRICS countries. In the first three quarters of this year, the export value from Jiangsu to BRICS member countries reached 322.69 billion yuan ($45.3 billion), up 12.3 percent year-on-year, said the Customs of Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

Over the same period, the import value amounted to 145.97 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3 percent, data of Nanjing Customs showed.

Nantong, a city in Jiangsu, stands as an important base for high-end equipment manufacturing in the province. Sany Palfinger SPV Equipment Co Ltd, a manufacturer of truck-mounted cranes and other equipment for special vehicles, has seen growing export volumes to related BRICS members.

"Our truck-mounted crane, a type of construction machinery equipment with a lightweight and flexible design, is highly favored by BRICS countries such as India and Saudi Arabia," said Zhou Chen, director of Customs affairs at the company.

The China unit of Trane Technologies, a US climate control solutions provider, designs and produces central air-conditioning systems for commercial and residential use.

For many years, the company has had close trade relations with BRICS countries such as Brazil and South Africa, and the export value to those countries accounted for 90 percent of the total.

The offering of tailored air-conditioning products with higher adaptability has been the key factor for manufacturers to consolidate their presence in the BRICS market, the company said.

"Our air-conditioning products exported to South Africa in October are equipped with the cooling function only. It has been a cost-effective product designed for hotter regions like Africa, and it has been quite popular locally," said Zhang Junxin, general manager of the company.

Meanwhile, BRICS members have constantly strengthened their cooperation in the new energy sector, and have thus effectively promoted the growth of their emerging industries.

US-headquartered firm Flextronics International Ltd's China unit in Suzhou, Jiangsu has been manufacturing self-powered control systems. On Oct 14, the company exported a batch of products worth $188,000 to Saudi Arabia that will mainly be used for solar energy projects.

In the past few years, Saudi Arabia has launched a large number of renewable energy grid connection projects, as the country aims to achieve energy transformation, and it has huge demand for solar energy equipment.

"This year, Saudi Arabia joined the BRICS family. The vibes of economic and trade cooperation had been good, providing us with favorable business opportunities for exporting some intermediate products for the new energy sector there," said Zhao Zhijun, manager of Customs affairs at the company.

From January to September, the export value of products from the company to Saudi Arabia reached $3.77 million, a jump of 128 percent year-on-year, it said.