Source: Dongying Net - Dongying Daily

2026-05-14 09:42:05

Recently, at the site of the 12-million-piece semi-steel tire project in Dawang Town, Guangrao County, workers have been busy producing orders. This year, Guangrao County has focused on developing the tire industry, continuously deepening efforts to expand capacity and improve quality, and steadily promoting the implementation of 11 projects, including the 12-million-piece-per-year high-performance semi-steel tire project of Euramick, while vigorously developing high-performance tires and new-energy vehicle tires to accelerate the building of a high-end rubber tire industrial base that is leading in China and world-class. Reporter: Zhuang Hongxin Correspondent: Liu Yunjie Reported

Aiding Dongying News, May. Guangrao County, nestled on the shores of the Bohai Sea, stood out at a tire expo. Buyers from the Middle East and Africa had flown thousands of miles to this small city in northern Shandong, not for the cheapest price, but to see firsthand a Chinese tire that has become a must-buy in downstream markets. Behind this is a global industrial chain reshaping itself from price competition to trust in technology.

On May 11, inside the intelligent workshop of Shandong Huasheng Rubber Group, the air was thick with the distinctive smell of rubber. Harris, a businessman from Dubai, wearing a light white shirt, stood in front of a huge molding machine for ten minutes. His eyes were fixed on the robot arm precisely gripping, bonding, and vulcanizing, while he repeatedly used his mobile phone to take close-up photos. “Our African customer specifically requested this brand, and there is absolutely no room for price bargaining.” Harris had originally planned to stop only at the exhibition booth, but insisted on visiting the factory: “At this critical moment, seeing is believing. The scientific management and ample inventory here convince me that this is the partner we want.”

On the same day, Alan, a trader from Gabon, also appeared in the negotiation area of Huasheng Factory. His visit was likewise driven by the customer’s “death order.” “The customer highly recognizes Huasheng’s quality and has designated Huasheng tires for purchase, so we had to come and verify it in person.” Alan said with urgency.

This is not an ordinary business inspection. Since the beginning of this year, the situation in the Middle East has been volatile, and the volume of domestic tire exports to the Middle East has once sharply declined. In an industry where it is generally expected that some overseas customers would postpone or even cancel orders, these two buyers chose, at the most difficult time, to rush to this “appointment across thousands of miles.” They used their actions to cast one “vote of trust” after another.

The customers’ choice stems from Guangrao’s solid industrial foundation. As the largest rubber tire industrial cluster in China, this area contributes one-fifth of the country’s semi-steel tire production capacity, with products exported to more than 200 countries and regions.

In Wang Peng’s view, sales manager at Huasheng Rubber International Marketing Center, what attracts customers is no longer low prices, but hard technical indicators. “This afternoon alone, we received three groups of customers. Recently, on average, one or two groups of international customers come to the factory every day.” The fundamental change Wang Peng feels is in the decision-making logic of international buyers: it has upgraded from “seeing samples at exhibitions” to “visiting the factory and production line.”

This shift has been confirmed in the R&D center. Liu Kehua, head of the PC R&D department at Huasheng Rubber, held up a newly launched tire and pointed to the tiny holes on the tread, explaining: “This is a studded winter tire designed for the Russian market. We have engineered precise stud holes in the tread and, together with a special white carbon black compound, increased grip by 30% compared with ordinary winter tires.”

Although it is only May now, outside the factory area, 10 container trucks and 10000 winter tires are being loaded and prepared for shipment to Russia’s Far East. Liu Kehua told the reporter that, due to a production and sea freight cycle of 3 to 4 months, customers must stock up in advance for the September sales peak. At present, Huasheng’s winter tire orders have already been scheduled into June, and workers are working overtime to meet the deadline.

Faced with the complex and changing international trade landscape, Li Xiaodong, general manager of the passenger car export brand sales at Huasheng Tire Marketing Center, succinctly summed up the company’s survival rule: “We don’t put all our eggs in one basket.” This is a highly forward-looking strategic layout. When traditional European and American markets fluctuate, Huasheng Rubber has already shifted its focus to emerging markets such as Central Asia, Russia, South America, and Africa, forming a diversified pattern.

Diversification is not only a geographical relocation, but also a deepening of product differentiation. In some regions of Malaysia, palm oil transportation faces an extremely special road condition: 20% bumpy roads and 80% flat roads. General-purpose tires often fail to cope, either wearing out too quickly on rough roads or lacking grip on good roads. “Once we identified this pain point, we quickly set up a task force.” Li Xiaodong explained that, for this specific scenario, Huasheng developed a special tire that balances comfort and wear resistance. By optimizing the tire structure and compound formula, it perfectly fits this special scenario. Today, this “custom-made” product ships steadily in more than 1000 tires per month and has become the first choice of local transportation companies.

From “selling whatever we have” to “making whatever is needed,” Chinese tire companies are transforming from pure manufacturers into solution providers.

Reporter’s Notes

The long journey of a tire is, in fact, a journey about trust. As the interview ended and the reporter was leaving the factory, Harris and Alan were still engaged in heated discussions with the technical staff. They may not understand the complex principles of vulcanization machinery, but they understand the market and reputation. When the global supply chain encounters headwinds, it is the power of the brand that transcends geographical barriers.

The grand curtain of the Guangrao tire expo is about to rise. Inside the exhibition hall will be dazzling products, and outside it will be a market changing with the winds. From the early reliance on low prices to seize the market by “selling to the world,” to today’s ability to “serve the world” through technology and service, every transformation in China’s tire industry is interpreting the connotation of high-quality development. This is not only a long journey of products, but also a confident “positioning” of Chinese manufacturing on the global map. As more “Harrises” and “Aliens” walk into Chinese factories, we see that true globalization is not simply the movement of goods, but the deep mutual trust of technology and brands. Wheels rolling, driving toward the deep blue sea—this is the hard-core answer of Chinese manufacturing.

(Reporter: Zhang Libo; Correspondents: Yu Wenjing, Zhang Pengtao)