Yes. Many Business still are. Just look at the no of participants to the latest Canton Fair in 2024.
Buying from China, Reselling to the World
Sourcing from China, the biggest producer of consumer goods in the world, and reselling within your local community remains the most popular mode of doing business in the World. Even though the margins have cut down significantly over the years, the currency exchange rates still provide for a good enough margins given that the volume of sales suffice to cover for the operating costs. Its the easiest and fastest way to position yourself to make some quick bucks. See the Taobao reseller guide to learn how to make money from Taobao.
How to value-add: Provide Distribution exposure. Allow customers, within your community reach, to receive their purchases easier, faster or at a lower cost.
**Unique offering. A product or service that is unique in the market. Its a better offering. Giving people every reason to purchase.
If buying from online marketplaces like Taobao and reselling, do make sure you are able to provide the product at a better price than what your community can get if they were to purchase directly from the site. Alternatively, your business model have got nothing proprietary and your only value is to find the right customers, then you probably won’t have much to earn. Google and the other search engines have already done that job for you.
See why we NEVER recommend dropshipping as an alternative for running your business.
Creating a platform/Marketplace for demand.
Today’s smartest business don’t create their own product or service. They create the platform for it. They make money by helping individuals make money. They save up on the set up costs and is able to execute projects effectively and efficiently. They work on using others products and services to build their brand. They main mode of business operation remains helping others succeed. Most prolific Examples of such businesses include: Uber, Grab, Didi, Alibaba, Shopee, Lazada, Amazon.
How to value-add: Combined Marketing. Leveraging on collaborative marketing to achieve massive efficiency on marketing and exposure.
Product Creator / Manufacturer
This remains the most powerful mode of business. Firstly, you won’t have any competitors and you probably have price control if your product is a unique offering in the market. Create your product and offer something proprietary to the market. This mode requires deep understanding of the market sentiments. Production and Shipping knowledge is also important.
How to Value-Add: You create a unique by-product for the entire market.
As the world moves towards globalization and information becomes ever the more increasingly transparent and widespread, running businesses the conventional way may no longer be as simple as it seems. However, making money from China is still a long standing and potentially powerful way of doing business. Globalization and technology does have its disadvantages, but it also widens the potential for how businesses can transform to target a wider global audience altogether.