Export Situation of Chinese Travel Luggage in Countries along the “Belt and Road”

Export Situation of Chinese Travel Luggage in Countries along the "Belt and Road"

 

At six o'clock in the morning in Baigou, Hebei, trucks loaded with luggage trolley products are heading to Almaty, where these cases will appear in Central Asian markets four days later. Meanwhile, in Huadu, Guangzhou, workers in smart factories are installing sandproof sealing devices on suitcase bags destined for the UAE. These parallel scenes sketch the export picture of China's luggage industry along the Belt and Road: in 2024, Baigou New City's pilot exports to Belt and Road countries grew by 33.12% yearonyear, while Huadu's growth rate was 4.4% during the same period.

 

Behind this difference lies the vivid practice of Chinese luggage enterprises building multilevel trade structures in Belt and Road countries through flexible transformation of industrial clusters. According to China Customs, Chinese travel luggage already accounts for 45% of global trade, with Belt and Road countries becoming the fastestgrowing emerging markets.

 

Precise Penetration of Tiered Markets: Matching Regional Demand with Supply

 

Southeast Asia, with its demographic dividend and booming ecommerce, has become the "foundation market" for China's luggage exports. Data from Xiamen Customs show that in 2024, Fujian Province's luggage exports to ASEAN reached 5.283 billion yuan, up 25.58% yearonyear. Most products were sold to the Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries via platforms like Shopee. In the Philippine market, China's TraveRE brand's aluminum frame suitcase became extremely popular. This 21inch cabin luggage bag, weighing only 2.1 kg, perfectly meets local consumers' demand for "lightweight + costeffective" products. The success stems from crossborder ecommerce insights: by analyzing 5.0star keywords from Southeast Asian users, companies found that waterproof and moistureproof functions were 37% more important than in the European and American markets, and promptly adjusted production standards.

 

The Middle Eastern market is undergoing a shift from lowend OEM to highend customization. Data from Ningbo Customs show that from January to November 2023, luggage exports to the Middle East increased by 29%, with special smartbag luggage and sandproof designs growing by 140%. Creamcolored light suitcases specifically designed for desert climates, with improved sealing structures, reached 301.8 million yuan in exports to Belt and Road countries in 2023, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia contributing 60% of the orders. This transformation is evident not only in functions but also in price: the average price of Chinese luggage in the Middle East rose from USD 35 in 2019 to USD 58 in 2024, significantly enhancing premium capacity.

 

Breakthroughs in the Central Asian market have benefited from logistics innovation. In April 2025, Baigou opened a direct truck transport line to Almaty, improving logistics efficiency by 40% and cutting costs by 25%. Annual additional exports are expected to reach 150 million yuan. This "market procurement + transport line" model enables Hebei luggage enterprises to respond quickly to Kazakhstan and other countries' procurement needs. Data show that Central Asian consumers pay special attention to pressure resistance, so enterprises strengthened the aluminummagnesium alloy structure of aluminium frame suitcase designs, reducing the return rate to 3.2%, far lower than the industry average of 8.7%.

 

Industrial Cluster Breakthroughs: Differentiated Exploration of Two Models

 

Baigou New City's "crossborder ecommerce + market procurement" model demonstrates the export wisdom of grassroots industrial clusters. With only 60,000 registered residents, Baigou achieved 9.44 billion yuan in exports in 2024 through platforms such as Temu and Shein, with Belt and Road countries accounting for 62%. Enterprises leverage the Baigou Digital Transformation Center's 3D design system to update bag styles within 72 hours based on Middle Eastern customer feedback. The "BitPaul" brand sold over 120,000 units annually in Saudi Arabia. Flexible policies such as VAT exemption and simplified customs clearance under the market procurement trade model benefited small and micro enterprises, adding 79 new exporters, covering 199 countries and regions.

 

Huadu, Guangzhou's "traditional foreign trade + brand upgrading" path reflects the transformation resilience of mature industrial clusters. Known as the "Capital of Chinese Leather Goods," Huadu has 8,800 manufacturers, of which 4 have obtained advanced AEO certification. These enterprises export exoticstyle travel backpacks, travel rucksacks, and laptop backpacks to Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries via the Canton Fair and other exhibitions. From January to September 2023, exports to Belt and Road countries reached 2.74 billion yuan. Unlike Baigou, Huadu companies focus more on building longterm partnerships through trade fairs, expanding overseas distribution networks for backpack for women and mens rucksack products to 76 countries, with Belt and Road partners accounting for 45.5%.

 

Together, the two models are driving industry upgrading. Baigou nurtured over 2,000 independent brands, and Markusman's smart travel suitcase is projected to reach 180 million yuan in sales by 2025. Huadu, meanwhile, improved premium capacity by innovating in materials-raising the utilization rate of recycled leather to 35% and boosting product prices by 20%. This complementary development-Baigou excelling at capturing emerging demand via ecommerce, and Huadu consolidating quality reputation via traditional trade-together builds China's competitive edge in the Belt and Road luggage market.

 

Restructuring the Trade Ecosystem: Empowered by Policy, Technology, and Culture

 

The RCEP agreement has brought real policy benefits for luggage exports. In the first three quarters of 2024, Guangzhou Customs issued over 2,300 certificates of origin for luggage enterprises, reducing tariffs by over 19 million yuan. This increased the price competitiveness of suitcases with usb port in ASEAN markets by 12%. Fujian companies turned this policy advantage into market breakthroughs by adopting a "Chinese raw materials + Vietnamese assembly" model to avoid trade barriers, achieving 12 consecutive months of doubledigit export growth to ASEAN. Customized services like Xiamen Customs' "inventory check without production stoppage" shortened clearance time, improving export efficiency of private companies by 30%. In 2024, their exports reached 18.425 billion yuan, accounting for 84.06% of the province's luggage exports.

 

Product technology upgrades are breaking the stereotype of "lowend OEM." In Southeast Asia, antiloss hand carry bag models with builtin GPS rose in penetration from 5% in 2020 to 28% in 2024. In the Middle Eastern market, 41% of highend luggage is now made with recycled ocean plastic, far above the global average. Baigou's Digital Transformation Center's "cloud design" system quickly converts regional fashion elements into product solutions-for example, automatically generating 3D models with golden metal accessories preferred in the Middle East, cutting the design cycle from 15 days to 3 days. This technical empowerment raised the average unit price of Chinese luggage exports to Belt and Road countries from USD 2.7 in 2019 to USD 4.1 in 2023, enhancing premium ability significantly.

 

Cultural adaptation design has become the key to unlocking markets. Luggage exported to Southeast Asia increasingly features tropical floral prints, raising repurchase rates in Indonesia by 27%. For Central Asian consumers who prefer durability, some companies increased loadbearing standards from 80kg to 100kg, with truckcrushing test videos gaining over 5 million views on local social media. Such localized strategies helped Chinese colorful luggage and colorful suitcase models achieve an average customer satisfaction score of 4.6/5 in Belt and Road countries, 0.3 points higher than the global average.

 

Conclusion

 

From Baigou to Huadu, from Southeast Asia to the Middle East, China's cabin luggage bag exports are rapidly expanding along the Belt and Road. Baigou's 33.12% growth and Huadu's steady 4.4% increase in 2024 depict different stages of industry upgrading-the former leveraging ecommerce dividends and flexible supply chains to capture emerging markets quickly, the latter consolidating traditional advantages through quality and brand building. When sandproof aluminum frame suitcase models appear in Dubai malls, when carry on luggage usb port products reach Poland via the ChinaEurope Railway Express, these Chinese goods not only carry cargo but also signal the transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China." With RCEP benefits continuing to expand and crossborder logistics improving, China's market share in Belt and Road countries is expected to rise from the current 38% to 45% by 2025, truly achieving the transformation from "world factory" to "global brand."