China is not one market
China manufactures everything, but not everywhere. Each region specializes, and buying from the wrong region means paying trader margins on factory goods.
The manufacturing map
Region Specializes in
--- ---
Guangdong (Shenzhen, Guangzhou) Electronics, consumer goods
Zhejiang (Yiwu, Ningbo) Small commodities, textiles
Jiangsu (Suzhou) Machinery, chemicals
Shandong Agriculture, tires, machinery
Fujian Footwear, stone products
How first orders typically go
:::chart First-order outcomes for unprepared buyers (share)
Smooth delivery | 41
Quality dispute | 23
Delay over 2 weeks | 19
Payment/fraud problem | 9
Abandoned mid-way | 8
:::
The 2026 reality
- Factories expect video calls — a supplier who will not show the line on camera is a trader or worse.
- RMB pricing is negotiable — dollar quotes carry a currency cushion you can push on.
- Consolidators matter — for multi-supplier orders, a consolidation warehouse saves more than any discount.
- Compliance is stricter — destination markets demand real certificates, and factories know it.
> The buyers who succeed in China are not the ones who find the cheapest factory; they are the ones who build the most verifiable process.
Run the process on Prebro
From discovery to sample order to bulk deal with staged payments, Prebro keeps your China sourcing in one verifiable record — supplier profile, messages, documents, and payments together.