Industrial robots produced by Greatoo in Jieyang, on June 29, 2025. (South Photo)
Delegation members of the Vibrant China Research Tour, from June 28 to 29, visited two manufacturing firms in the Chaoshan region of Guangdong, Chaozhou, and Jieyang. All the firms have envisioned their global layout and specific considerations for overseas development.
Three-Circle Group Co., Ltd. (CCTC), an electronic products manufacturer mainly serving consumer electronics, buses, new energy, and communications applications based in Chaozhou, also arranged its two production bases due to tariffs imposed by Donald Trump during his first term.
Liu Dexin receives the interviews in Chaozhou, on June 28, 2025. (South Photo)
According to Liu Dexin, vice president in charge of sales at CCTC, the two production bases—one in Germany and another in Thailand—were established in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
"Through the acquisition of Vermes Microdispensing GmbH in 2017, we injected our capital and market power to help it expand into the Chinese market," Liu noted. The development of this European company has doubled compared to before the acquisition.
Regarding the base in Thailand, Liu explained to South that prior to the Sino-US trade war, their products originally had a competitive advantage compared with their Japanese counterparts.
"After the tariffs imposed by Trump, products sold to the United States were subject to a 25% levy, and we lost our competitive advantage compared with our peers," he added.
To expand overseas markets and maintain competitiveness, the enterprise selected Southeast Asia as a promising region. Thailand is more suitable in all aspects among Southeast Asian countries.
Semiconductor package produced by CCTC in Chaozhou, on June 28, 2025. (South Photo)
Currently, according to Liu, several of the firm's leading products hold a relatively high market position in their segments, such as the fiber optic ceramic ferrules used in optical communications, which have a global market share of over 70%.
Multilayer ceramic capacitors developed by CCTC have achieved mass production and been recognized by top domestic and foreign manufacturers, including Continental AG, United Automotive Electronics, and Clarion Electronics.
As Liu explains, the current market distribution of CCTC products, based on sales statistics, is that 80% of their products are directly supplied to domestic customers, while 20% are supplied to overseas customers.
If indirect customers of CCTC products are included—products sold to domestic customers, who then sell them overseas—the market distribution of CCTC products would be 50% domestic sales and 50% overseas sales.
Correspondingly, Greatoo Intelligent Equipment Inc., which focuses on high-end industries based in Jieyang, began to develop overseas markets in 2009 in response to China's strategy of going global.
Hong Fu receives the interview from South in Jieyang, on June 29, 2025. (South Photo)
As Hong Fu, General Manager of the administrative management center of Greatoo, explains, the company has established two overseas venues. One is in Germany for numerical control machine tools, and the other is in the U.S. for radial tire molds.
Hong introduced that Greatoo has acquired a German NC machine tool company called OPS. With over 50 years of experience, OPS is among the world's leading brands, with customers including BMW, Tesla, and Mercedes-Benz. Greatoo is now the largest shareholder of the German firm.
Greatoo sent a technical team to Germany to study and exchange ideas, and has also mastered its technology. Now, Greatoo expects to align German technology and standards with Chinese manufacturing.
Regarding radial tire molds, Hong mentioned that Greatoo acquired Northeast Tire Mold Inc. in Akron, Ohio, located next to the headquarters of Goodyear and Cooper Tire, two of the top three tire manufacturers.
After this acquisition, Greatoo set up a production base in Chennai, a city in southeast India, established in 2014 for the production of tire molds for both India and the United States.
Notably, Hong highlighted the vulcanizers exported to foreign countries in recent years. The main export destinations are Southeast Asian countries, with a growing market in North Africa, such as Morocco.
Xie Chuanghong receives the interviews in Jieyang, on June 29, 2025. (South Photo)
Xie Chuanghong, a board member of Greatoo, detailed to South why they arranged such a global layout.
"We are optimistic about China's high-end NC machine tool market," he noted.
He cited the Chennai production base as an example. As a multinational enterprise, Xie told reporters that there are probably only two or three Chinese managers in Chennai.
"We have basically achieved localized operations. We can say that we are the largest brand in tire molds in India," he stated.
Given its large population and number of cars, Greatoo perceives huge business opportunities in India's tire industry.
A radial tire mold produced by Greatoo in Jieyang, on June 29, 2025. (South Photo)
Considering the potential for decoupling, Xie noted that if the tariffs on the Chinese mainland continue into July, the firm would consider transferring orders from the North American market to India or fulfilling American orders from their production base.
"We have to consider several factors such as price and delivery time. We still need to meet customer needs," he added.
Reporter: Zhang Ruijun
Photo: Zhang Ruijun
Editor: Yuan Zixiang, James, Shenhe
