China News Service, Guangzhou, October 30. Title: From selling products to exporting capabilities: Guangzhou companies go overseas and move deeper into the value chain
China News Service reporter Wang Jian
A small screen and a charging base are added to the code scanning gun just because overseas customers said, "You can directly see whether the code is being scanned or not." The 140th Canton Fair is being held. As of 17:00 on the 27th, 278,000 overseas buyers from 218 countries and regions have attended the fair. In addition to the crowds, the "protagonist" placed on the booth by Guangzhou companies is changing - from a single piece of equipment to scenes, technology and operational capabilities.
According to statistics, in the first three quarters, Guangzhou's total foreign trade import and export value was 981.11 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%, and the industrial export delivery value increased by 9.1%. Behind the numbers is a group of Guangzhou companies that are changing the old path of "selling goods overseas" - they are bringing their R&D, technology, capital and operational capabilities into the real world of overseas customers.
This transformation was clearly visible at the Canton Fair. At Xunlei Intelligent's booth, the new portable scanner has a display screen and a charging base. The changes are not major, but it comes from direct feedback from overseas work sites: workers want to see the reading results while scanning the code, eliminating the need for repeated checks. The relevant person in charge of the company said that the company will adjust the plan accordingly and turn the needs into the functions of the next generation product.
More detailed differences lie in regional markets. In the high-frequency mobile operations of European and American warehousing and logistics, Xunlei has improved the connection stability and recognition speed of portable terminals. Large-scale supermarkets in South Korea require one-handed operation. Xunlei connected the back-clip scanner to the purchase, sale and inventory system, increasing store inventory efficiency by 70%, with a recognition success rate of 98%, and the error rate dropped from 3.2% to less than 0.2%. Currently, the products have entered more than 100 countries and regions around the world.
Taking one step further from adaptation scenarios is the core link to enter the global industrial chain. Gosuncn Technology Group has spent ten years expanding the number of vehicle-mounted diagnostic terminal compatible models from hundreds to about 40,000. It has successively entered the first-tier supplier system such as Harman, Continental, Hyundai Mobis, and Pioneer. The 5G T-Box is equipped with many Toyota models through Harman. Overseas vehicle certification usually takes 1 to 2 years. After crossing this threshold, Gosuncn moved from post-assembly to front-end assembly, from selling equipment to participating in the global automotive division of labor. In 2025, its overseas revenue will be 354 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62%; in the first half of 2026, it will reach 207 million yuan, accounting for more than 20%.
After the technology goes overseas, the deeper form is that the industry takes root. New South Group started with the artemisinin anti-malarial project in 2003 and reduced the number of malaria cases in Comoros by 98%, thus establishing long-term mutual trust with local African countries. In 2013, the company participated in the operation of Nigeria's Guangdong Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, providing infrastructure and public services around pain points such as power supply, customs clearance, and employment. As of July 2026, the park has invested more than US$390 million in total, directly created more than 10,000 jobs, and formed clusters in ceramic building materials, wood processing, hardware and light industry. In 2017, a similar model was copied to the Pearl River Special Economic Zone in Kenya.
The three Guangzhou companies, which are respectively engaged in intelligent hardware, Internet of Vehicles, and industrial park operations, have different paths, but they are pointing to the same change: the target of overseas competition is shifting from "Guangzhou manufacturing" to "Guangzhou capabilities." This capability comes from the basic support of the industry - Guangzhou has relatively complete industrial categories and supply chain supporting facilities, allowing companies to string together product iterations, technical certifications, and localized operations into a closed loop.
