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Trade across thousands of miles has never been just about tonnage; it is where taste meets life.

BITTER: THE DAILY GRIND

Ethiopia is the cradle of Arabica. Legend dictates that a millennium ago, a shepherd on the southwestern Kaffa plateau stumbled upon the energizing properties of the coffee shrub. The land has yielded the bean ever since.

Today, Ethiopia churns out 600,000 tonnes of coffee a year. For some 25 million people — roughly a fifth of the population — it is the bedrock of their livelihood and the country’s premier export.

Yet for farmers like Tesfaye Gabru, who came of age on these highlands, the economics of coffee have long been decidedly bitter. He has watched generations of growers lug meticulously tended beans down mountain trails, queue at local purchasing stations, and walk away with prices that bore little relation to the effort they had put in.

Vagaries in global commodity markets, capricious weather, and a dearth of domestic processing capacity meant that premium beans rarely fetched premium prices. That injustice — endured season after season, year after year — is the bitterness that sits behind the flavor.

China’s increasingly voracious appetite for coffee offers a reprieve. As orders swell, Gabru’s AWO Coffee Company has pivoted; virtually its entire export volume is now destined for China.

Steady demand allows the firm to offer smallholders better margins and expand its harvest-season payroll. The zero-tariff policy has emboldened Gabru further, providing the financial runway to build his own roasting facility on the outskirts of Addis Ababa — something he now has the confidence to do for the first time.

Chinese firms are venturing directly to the source. Changsha Saturnbird Coffee recently inked a strategic pact with the Ethiopian side, forging a direct sea-rail logistics corridor stretching from the African highlands to the heart of Hunan Province.

Wang Ling, the firm’s general manager, says Ethiopian beans are a hit with Chinese consumers, and plans to scale up direct procurement to “benefit both grower and drinker.” For the farmers who have spent years queuing for a pittance, that is more than a corporate pledge — it is years of quiet hardship slowly coalescing into a tangible return.

SPICY: A BURNING AMBITION

Herman Uvizeyimana spent years studying in China, where he saw firsthand how Chinese goods — affordable and well-made — found eager buyers the world over. When he returned to Rwanda in 2018, he went into trade between the two countries.

But the doctorate-holder from the Chinese Academy of Sciences had a deeper ambition. Bringing Chinese goods in was not enough. He wanted to send Rwandan products the other way — to earn hard currency for his country and put real income in the hands of Rwandan farmers.

Workers work at the agricultural factory Fisher Global in the Rwamagana Industrial Park, Eastern Province, Rwanda, April 14, 2026. (Xinhua/Ju Yinhe)

In 2021, he heard that Rwandan dried chillies had secured access to the Chinese market. He saw an opening: Rwandan dried chilli packs a punch four times hotter than standard varieties, and China has one of the world’s most devoted communities of spice lovers.

But chilli was a niche crop in Rwanda, and local farmers were skeptical. Uvizeyimana led from the front — going into the fields himself, learning from scratch how to select land, propagate seedlings, and dry the harvest. The first year was bruising. Uneven quality meant only a single container made it out the door. “It was a serious blow,” he said.

He did not give up. He taught farmers the basics of cultivation and pest control, went door to door to collect fresh chillies, and stood over the drying and processing at the factory to keep quality consistent. Trust, slowly, was earned. In the second year, exports jumped to 10 containers. “Our confidence was built up little by little.”

Today, Uvizeyimana’s Fischer Global ships 200 to 300 tonnes of dried chilli to China each year, with planted area now at 300 hectares. What his years in China gave him was more than knowledge and technique — it was the courage to spot an opportunity and the will to bring others along for the journey. Spicy is not merely a sensation; it is the drive to set out, and to lead the way.

ACIDITY: THE VINTAGE ADVANTAGE

The harvest may have concluded, but the bottling lines at Diemersdal Wine Estate in Cape Town hum relentlessly. Much of this liquid cargo is bound for China.

“South Africa’s viticultural roots date back to 1659, making us the oldest of the New World producing regions,” said Steffi Layer, the estate’s international sales manager, with evident pride.

Oak barrels are seen at the production facility of Diemersdal Wine Estate in Durbanville, Cape Town, South Africa, on March 31, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Lei)

Cultivated on ancient granite soils under a Mediterranean sky, South African wines are celebrated for their bold yet refined character — warming fruitiness wrapped in minerality, with a bright and unapologetic acidity. It is precisely this “tartness,” shaped over centuries by soil and sun, that gives the Cape’s vintages their distinct voice in a crowded global cellar.

Despite a 17-year presence in the Chinese market and a growing appetite for wine among China’s middle class, South African labels have struggled to close the gap with their European rivals. Tariffs and steep shipping costs have been a persistent drag.

Layer sees the zero-tariff policy as a turning point. Remove the levies, she argues, and the gains will ripple across the entire supply chain — shippers, importers, and vineyards alike. “I’m confident South African wine will find a much warmer welcome on Chinese shelves.”

SWEET: FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR

In Benin, the pineapple of choice is the “Sugarloaf” — celebrated across Africa for its intense sweetness and negligible acidity. This unassuming fruit is an economic pillar for the West African nation, with annual production of around 450,000 tonnes generating 1.2 percent of GDP and sustaining tens of thousands of farming families.

Paradoxically, growers like Tchegbenangnon Lanmandoclevo once dreaded a bumper crop. Abundance brought not joy but anguish: mountains of pineapples rotting in local markets too small to absorb the glut. “Without the Chinese export market, it would be impossible to sell this volume,” he said.

Farmers pack freshly harvested pineapples in the commune of Ze, a major pineapple producing area in southern Benin, March 16, 2026. (Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)

Beninese pineapples clinched Chinese market access in 2023, stealing the show at the China International Import Expo and securing tens of millions of dollars in orders. Today, the 55-year-old Lanmandoclevo has tripled his plantation to nearly three hectares.

The zero-tariff policy promises to sweeten the deal further. At a recent export launch ceremony in the agricultural hub of Allada, Gaston Dossouhoui, Benin’s minister of agriculture, hailed the policy as a catalyst for rural modernization, job creation, and improved livelihoods.

The sweetness on a diner’s tongue is a farmer’s livelihood. Every Sugarloaf carries, within it, a family’s rekindled hope.

Taste, it turns out, is the one language that needs no translation. An old African philosophy holds: “I am because we are.” As China’s vast consumer market becomes a vast opportunity for Africa, the continent’s flavors — finding their way into Chinese cups and onto Chinese plates — are the most everyday and honest proof of a shared destiny across mountains and seas.

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Lin made the remarks at a regular news briefing in response to a query about China’s zero-tariff treatment for African countries starting May 1, 2026.

“China has noted Africa’s eager anticipation and positive feedback on the zero-tariff measures,” Lin said.

He noted that global protectionism and unilateralism are on the rise, and the spillover effects of the situation in the Middle East have spread to adjacent continents. By sharing opportunities and pursuing common development through the zero-tariff policy, China and Africa have demonstrated their determination to contribute to global peace and development with stability, Lin added.

“China will continue to negotiate and sign economic partnership agreements for common development with relevant African countries. At the same time, it will upgrade the green channel for the export of agricultural products from Africa to China and steadily enhance trade facilitation between China and Africa,” Lin said. ■

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Her “Becoming Chinese” video series, in which she jokingly laid down rules like drinking hot water, wearing slippers and eating no raw veggies in winter, quickly went viral. Partly inspired by her, millions of overseas users began posting videos showcasing their embrace of typical Chinese daily routines, ranging from drinking warm water and goji berry tea to wearing house slippers and practicing tai chi.

What is remarkable is that this cross-border cultural trend has moved beyond virtual screens and translated into tangible commercial gains worth billions of yuan. According to China’s customs data, in the first quarter of 2026, China’s exports of thermos flasks reached 5 billion yuan (about 732 million U.S. dollars). Meanwhile, tea exports hit 2.7 billion yuan, while overseas sales of electric kettles reached 200 million yuan.

These surging numbers tell a bigger story — one where China’s evolving industrial strength goes hand-in-hand with its expanding cultural appeal.

FUNCTIONAL VESSEL TO LIFESTYLE ICON

Beneath the export surge lies the quiet but unmistakable upgrade of Chinese manufacturing: everyday products are transforming from factory goods to fashion statements, and from functional goods to globally competitive lifestyle brands.

“Chinese wellness culture has definitely played a catalytic role,” said Yao Huajun, chairman of Everich And Tomic Housewares Co., Ltd. Founded in 2000, this enterprise has long focused on global markets for drinking utensils and household kettles.

In an interview with China News Service, Yao noted that as more international consumers recognize and adopt Chinese wellness habits such as drinking warm water, global demand for thermos products and traditional tea accessories continues to rise.

“In the past, thermos flasks were seen merely as practical daily tools,” Yao added. “But currently in many countries, they have evolved into popular consumer goods that carry lifestyle attitudes, aesthetic pursuits and even social interaction attributes.”

China ranks first in the global thermos manufacturing industry, with an annual output of roughly 800 million units, accounting for over 60 percent of the world’s total production. Such strong capacity is backed by the Yongkang-Wuyi-Jinyun industrial cluster in east China’s Zhejiang Province, a highly developed ecosystem that serves as the core pillar of China’s thermos exports.

Industry analysis reveals that this cluster accounts for 70 to 80 percent of China’s total thermos exports. Local manufacturers there produce around 80 percent of thermos products for major Western brands. Within an hour’s drive, all necessary components are available, enabling rapid prototyping and efficient supply-chain collaboration.

Industry insiders believe that overseas appetite for Chinese thermoses is not a short-lived fad. In the next three to five years, smart cups capable of tracking water consumption and sending hydration reminders are expected to become highly sought-after in Europe and North America. Meanwhile, new materials such as titanium, lighter and safer than conventional options, are poised for wider adoption.

“Chinese thermos exports are not just about ‘selling products,’ they are about taking Chinese manufacturing, Chinese design and Chinese brand capabilities to the world,” said Yao.

ONLINE TREND TO OFFLINE JOURNEY

If manufacturing upgrading represents the hard power of goods exports, the spread of a daily lifestyle embodies the soft power of cultural communication.

Unlike previous waves that highlighted grand classical symbols such as Peking opera, ancient poetry and intangible heritage crafts, this “Becoming Chinese” trend is more grounded in the mundane: sipping goji berry tea from a thermos, doing eye exercises between screen breaks, and taking herbal foot baths. These habits are easy to grasp, simple to adopt, and rich in personal experience, making it easier to break down cross-cultural barriers.

“The ‘Becoming Chinese’ phenomenon on international social media offers a glimpse into the charm of Chinese culture and China’s rising global clout,” said Zhang Yuqiang, a professor at Communication University of China.

While foreign netizens are keen on “Becoming Chinese” online, a growing number of overseas tourists choose to travel to China to experience authentic local culture in person.

Thanks to China’s continuous expansion of opening-up efforts and optimized entry policies, like the 240-hour visa-free transit policy covering 55 countries, cross-border travel has been greatly facilitated. In 2025, the number of inbound foreign tourists reached 150 million, a year-on-year increase of over 17 percent. The number of visa-free entries by foreigners exceeded 30 million, rising by 49.5 percent year on year.

In the first quarter of 2026 alone, the country’s customs authorities handled more than 230,000 tax refund verification applications from departing foreign tourists, a fivefold increase compared with the same period last year.

“Many foreign friends are coming to China to immerse themselves in high-speed rail travel, wear hanfu, eat hot pot and experience Chinese lifestyles firsthand,” said Wang Jun, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs. Their shopping lists have expanded beyond electronics, like smartphones and VR headsets, to include cultural and creative products and trendy toys.

“China has never tried to push its way of life or culture onto others. Instead, we present them to people overseas with an open and inclusive attitude, and interact with them sincerely. This mindset stems from our growing cultural confidence,” said Zhang Yuqiang. ■

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BEIJING, (Xinhua) — Recently, some Western media have been peddling the “China Shock 2.0” narrative, portraying China’s ascent in high-tech sectors as a new wave of disruption to the global economy.

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For Xi, reading is more than a personal hobby — it is a way of life.

As China’s top leader, Xi often draws on books that have long enriched his intellectual world, using them as a diplomatic bridge to connect China with the wider world and promote cross-cultural exchanges and mutual learning among diverse civilizations.

AN AVID READER

Since childhood, books have been Xi’s constant companions and lasting passion. Born into a family of revolutionaries in Beijing, he was raised by parents who valued learning and encouraged their children to read, think, and contribute to the country and its people.

Xi once recalled that his father, Xi Zhongxun, a revolutionary leader, seldom bought toys for him and his siblings, but was far more generous when it came to books — often taking them to bookstores and letting them choose for themselves.

Chen Qiuying, who taught Xi Chinese in 1965 when he was a teenager, recalled, “The boy was an avid reader of literature and history, particularly captivated by the poetry of Du Fu.” Du, the most revered realist poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), was renowned for his profound empathy and deep compassion for the common people, themes that permeated his works.

In 1969, just shy of 16, Xi was sent to the remote rural village of Liangjiahe in the hills of Shaanxi Province as an “educated youth.” Bringing two suitcases filled with books, Xi spent seven years living in yaodong, a traditional cave dwelling carved into the yellow loess hillsides. Despite the harsh conditions, his enthusiasm for reading never waned; instead, books became a source of spiritual strength during those challenging years.

Xi would use breaks from farm work to study dictionaries, or pen the sheep on the hilltop for a moment to read. At night, he immersed himself in books under a kerosene lamp. He once walked 15 km along a bumpy, dusty country road only to borrow Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Faust.” He was also deeply impressed by Russian writer Nikolai Chernyshevsky’s “What Is to Be Done?”, in which the protagonist’s resilience encouraged him.

During his stay in the village, Xi read nearly all the literary classics he could find. Xi recalled, “What comes out effortlessly today are the things I read at that time.”

Through extensive reading, Xi developed a distinctive approach: turning thick books into thin ones and thin books into thick ones. That is, he would distill the essence of rich and complex works into core insights, while probing the depths of concise texts to fully uncover their richness. By the time he was admitted to Tsinghua University in 1975, he had read Karl Marx’s “Das Kapital” from cover to cover three times and filled 18 notebooks with his reflections.

Reading Chinese and foreign classics nourished Xi’s inner world. Throughout the years, whether serving as a grassroots official or China’s top leader, he has maintained a rigorous reading habit while also encouraging his colleagues — and the broader public — to read.

“Overseas analysts of China are understandably very interested in whether Chinese leaders are reading, whether they have time to read, and what kind of books they are reading,” The Diplomat said in one article. “Leaders’ knowledge is formed by the books they read … This in turn is an important factor in determining the shaping and implementation of policy.”

EXPLAINING THE WORLD VIA CHINESE CLASSICS

Reading China’s classical and modern works has given Xi a broad intellectual foundation, allowing him to draw with ease on well-known authors and texts in articulating his governance and diplomatic philosophy.

“Outstanding literary and artistic works reflect the capacity of a country and a nation for cultural creation. Only with fine works can we attract, guide, and inspire people and make progress in bringing Chinese culture to the world,” Xi said.

To better preserve Chinese classics, the China National Archives of Publications and Culture — a grand project approved by Xi — was inaugurated in July 2022. Dubbed the “seed gene banks” of Chinese civilization, the project systematically collects important editions of classic and cultural works.

On the global stage, Xi frequently invokes Chinese classics to explain his ideas and promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. These references reflect time-honored wisdom which Xi uses to introduce traditional Chinese cultural concepts like harmony, inclusiveness, cooperation and mutual respect to global audiences.

In Xi’s view, civilizations only vary from each other, and no civilization is superior to others.

When he proposed the Global Civilization Initiative in 2023, Xi cited lines compiled in a Ming Dynasty collection of maxims: “A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden” to reaffirm his view that “A civilization can flourish only through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations.”

Peace and war have been a recurring theme in Xi’s remarks on various international occasions.

During a state visit to Greece in 2019, Xi paused before the “Mourning Athena,” a marble relief dating to around 460 BC, at the Acropolis Museum. Then Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos remarked that the goddess was resting and contemplating after a battle.

“Zhi Ge Wei Wu,” Xi quoted the idiom from the ancient Chinese historical chronicle “Zuo Zhuan,” meaning that boldness lies in the suspension of hostility. “She (Athena) is reflecting on what exactly war means.”

In today’s world, changes unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace, transformation and turbulence are intertwined, and wars and conflicts keep flaring up in some regions.

“Stability brings a country prosperity while instability leads a country to poverty,” Xi quoted a saying from “The Guanzi,” a collection of ancient Chinese writings, when he proposed the Global Security Initiative in 2022, urging joint efforts to maintain world peace and security.

Martin Albrow, a fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences, said that Xi, by drawing wisdom from China’s ancient history and splendid civilization, has put forward important thoughts and a theoretical system on how to govern the modern society.

“With today’s world facing common challenges of peace, cooperation and development, the philosophy and wisdom from the East will serve as an important enlightenment for countries around the world on how to deepen cooperation and strengthen global governance,” he said.

BUILDING BRIDGES WITH BOOKS

To make his remarks more relatable to global audiences, Xi often references foreign literature as a way to foster closer ties while advancing his ideas. For him, literature and art are “the best medium for creating understanding and communication between different countries and cultures.”

Back in March 2013, during his first state visit to Russia since becoming Chinese president, Xi first proposed his landmark vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity while addressing over a thousand teachers and students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

“The path of history is not paved like Nevsky Prospekt; it runs across fields, either dusty or muddy, and cuts across swamps or forest thickets,” Xi cited a line from Chernyshevsky, indicating that while humanity has every reason to believe that the world will become a better place, the path toward it can be tortuous.

In the same speech, Xi spoke about the profound influence of Russian literature on multiple generations in China, and mentioned several Russian literary giants, including Pushkin, Lermontov and Tolstoy, whose works he had read extensively.

“President Xi mentioned several Russian literary classics … which made everyone feel very close to him,” said Taras Ivchenko, a Russian sinologist, who was among those met by Xi following the speech. “As soon as he referred to these works, the whole atmosphere changed and became much more relaxed.”

“Why do I share these stories with foreigners? I do it because literature and art are a universal language,” Xi stressed the crucial role of literature in cultural exchanges. “This makes it one of the easiest ways to create understanding and connection with others.”

In his interactions with world leaders, Xi has at times given books as gifts, particularly to those who share his passion for reading and literature, such as French President Emmanuel Macron.

In May 2024, during Xi’s third state visit to France, the Chinese leader presented a selection of classic French novels in Chinese translation to Macron, including “Ninety-Three,” “Madame Bovary” and “The Red and the Black.” In return, Macron gave Xi an antique edition of “Les Contemplations” by Victor Hugo, a French author whose works Xi enjoys reading.

As representatives of Eastern and Western civilizations, China and France should respect each other, exchange with and learn from each other, Xi told Macron.

In Xi’s eyes, exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations can serve as a bridge of friendship among peoples, a driving force for human progress, and a strong bond for world peace.

And through exchanges, Xi argued, “we need to encourage different civilizations to respect each other and live together in harmony.”

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Hailed by international media as a testament to China’s manufacturing strength and comprehensive local supply chain, the victory highlights a larger reality: as global economic turbulence intensifies, China’s manufacturing sector is proving its resilience and capacity for high-quality growth.

FROM BIG TO STRONG

Having maintained its position as the world’s largest manufacturing hub for 16 consecutive years, China has fortified its key industrial and supply chains to become more resilient, providing strong support for weathering major risks.

The country’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) has made moving faster to boost its strength in manufacturing a central task, calling for maintaining a reasonable share of manufacturing in the economy and building a modern industrial system led by advanced manufacturing.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, during the 2026-2030 period, the country will shore up weak links, strengthen competitive edges and seize early-mover advantages, with the goal of moving from key breakthroughs to all-round advantages.

Xin Yongfei, an expert with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, noted that China’s manufacturing sector already has the scale and innovation foundation.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, he said, maintaining strategic focus and concentrating on crucial areas will allow China to leap from “following” to “running alongside” and even “leading,” laying a solid foundation for basically achieving new industrialization.

Local governments have also rolled out concrete plans: Hunan Province in central China will implement landmark projects for an advanced manufacturing highland, Shanghai in east China aims to build the “Made in Shanghai” brand, and southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality is pushing to become a strong manufacturing city.

CORE-RESHAPING INNOVATION

In Beijing’s Yizhuang District, also known as E-town, humanoid robots can be seen training for a half-marathon. Many of them can now run at speeds of up to six meters per second, rivaling the pace of professional athletes.

This leap mirrors a broader push toward higher-end, smarter and greener manufacturing. The 15th Five-Year Plan outlines a series of concrete steps: improving manufacturing quality, boosting the resilience of industrial and supply chains, and achieving breakthroughs in core technologies.

One telling example is the recent release of China’s domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, now the strongest industrially produced carbon fiber in the world.

“Thanks to this technological breakthrough, our domestically produced large aircraft will be lighter, deep-space exploration can go farther, and new energy vehicles will have longer range. It provides a stronger ‘skeleton’ for future industries,” said Chen Qiufei, the R&D lead.

Meanwhile, companies are shifting from selling hardware to offering integrated solutions. DJI, known for its drones, now provides agricultural plant protection solutions, with related service revenue accounting for more than 30 percent of its total.

Similarly, Chinese battery maker Sunwoda has built a six-dimensional maglev production line and a digital twin system to improve its own manufacturing efficiency, and is now exporting smart manufacturing solutions to others.

The results are visible in the data. In the first two months of 2026, the value-added output of high-tech manufacturing enterprises grew 13.1 percent year on year, while that of equipment manufacturing rose 9.3 percent.

The “AI plus manufacturing” initiative has been implemented, with the adoption rate of AI technology among major manufacturing firms exceeding 30 percent. Meanwhile, more than 8,300 green factories have been established nationwide.

MORE OPEN LANDSCAPE

At the same time, China’s manufacturing sector is opening up further. In Zhanjiang, south China’s Guangdong Province, German chemicals giant BASF’s massive production complex, known as a Verbund site, has started production, marking the largest single investment project wholly owned by a German enterprise in China.

Thousands of miles away in Tatabanya, Hungary, Chinese heavy machinery manufacturer Zoomlion’s first European smart factory has opened, providing a stable and efficient product supply and better localized services for European customers.

All foreign investment restrictions in the manufacturing sector have been lifted in China. In the first two months of this year, China’s exports of high-tech and high-value-added mechanical and electrical products reached 2.89 trillion yuan (about 418.9 billion U.S. dollars), up 24.3 percent year on year.

As China navigates an increasingly volatile world, its manufacturing sector is actively integrating into global markets, offering vast cooperation opportunities for the world.

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