Cross-border customer acquisition of industrial products is undergoing a major reshuffle.
Nowadays, industrial products can no longer rely on the old methods to obtain customers across borders. In March, new foreign trade policies were implemented intensively. From export credit insurance to customs clearance convenience, each of them can help factories save real money.
At the same time, shipping in the Middle East is in turmoil, but Chinese shipping companies have taken the lead in resuming shipping routes. There are definite opportunities hidden in the crisis.
Export data surged by 21.8% at the beginning of the year, and the three major tracks of AI hardware, new energy, and high-end equipment exploded.
But many industrial product factories are stuck on the same problem: they don’t know how to acquire customers through overseas social media, and they don’t know where their customers are.
Next, I will explain to you the policy bonuses, track opportunities, and customer acquisition methods all at once. Finally, I will also tell you a way to skip all the intermediate steps and get customer inquiries directly.
1. New foreign trade policy: three money-saving dividends that can be implemented
The Ministry of Commerce and CITIC Insurance issued a document to comprehensively increase export credit insurance.
Small and medium-sized factories can also get higher credit lines, especially for orders sent to the Middle East and Africa. They can pay a small premium to provide safety cushion for the orders.
It is recommended that all export factories contact the local Sinosure Company immediately to apply for corporate credit.
The General Administration of Customs expanded the special action to facilitate cross-border trade to 45 cities, adding 20 new central and western cities including Shasha, Wuhan, and Xi’an.
Customs clearance time has been further compressed, export inspections of popular categories such as lithium batteries have been simplified, and customs declaration, inspection, and tax payment have been completed online. Factories in the central and western regions can also enjoy the customs clearance efficiency of coastal ports.
Starting from April 1, the new policy for returns of cross-border e-commerce retail exports across customs zones will be officially implemented.
For goods exported under the 9610 model, overseas returns do not need to be returned to the original export customs. You can choose any customs port across the country for return shipment.
From 2026 to the end of 2027, eligible returned goods will be exempted from import duties, value-added tax and consumption tax. All duties paid during export will be fully refunded, and the cost of returns will be significantly reduced.
2. Shipping turmoil in the Middle East: Chinese shipping companies broke the situation and stabilized shipments
The situation in the Middle East escalated at the beginning of the year, and the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea routes were blocked at the same time.
However, on March 30, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the strait is not closed to all countries, and purely commercial cargo ships from China and other neutral countries can pass safely after reporting in advance.
On March 25, COSCO Shipping officially resumed its new booking business for ordinary containers from the Far East to the six countries of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq. It adopted the model of large ships berthing at safe ports in the Gulf of Oman and bonded land transshipment, becoming the first leading shipping company in the world to resume sailing to the Middle East.
Industrial products factories need to do three things: give priority to selected shipping companies and lock in space and price guarantee contracts; sign fixed freight contracts with freight forwarders to clarify all surcharge bearers; and reserve a 10 to 14-day buffer for delivery to avoid route detours that lead to breach of contract.
The local supply chain in the Middle East has been affected, and there is a huge gap in urgently needed categories such as food, building materials, and agricultural machinery and equipment. Local buyers are urgently looking for Chinese suppliers, and order volume has increased by more than 40% compared with February.
Third, three major single-explosion tracks: the data at the beginning of the year have been verified
The export growth rate at the beginning of the year is 21.8%, and the real explosion is in the three tracks.
Exports of AI hardware and mature process chips surged by 72.6% year-on-year, with quantity increasing by 13.7% and unit price increasing by 52%, achieving both volume and price increases.
The global AI computing power competition has driven a surge in demand for servers, AI cameras, and smart toys, with profit margins far exceeding those of traditional consumer electronics.
The entire new energy industry chain continues to lead the way, with exports of new energy vehicles increasing by 67.1%, and photovoltaics and energy storage maintaining double-digit growth.
Targeting markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, it focuses on cost-effective household energy storage and small photovoltaic systems, with stable orders and almost no involution.
In high-end equipment manufacturing, ship exports surged by 52.8%, and industrial robots and construction machinery both achieved double-digit growth.
Southeast Asian electronics factories, food factories, and textile factories are undergoing large-scale automation upgrades, and the demand for cost-effective robotic arms and intelligent warehousing systems has grown by more than 30% for three consecutive years.
4. A new way to acquire cross-border customers for industrial products: social media to directly reach buyers
The battle in 2026 is not about low prices, but accurate customer acquisition.
LinkedIn and TikTok are the best channels to reach the decision-makers of overseas buyers.
Add purchasing directors and technical directors from target industries on LinkedIn, continuously output product application cases, and build trust first before converting orders.
Videos of factory production processes and product testing are captured on TikTok to demonstrate product strength in the most intuitive way and attract private message inquiries from small and medium-sized buyers.
However, many industrial product factories do not have foreign trade teams and do not know how to make videos, place advertisements, or negotiate orders with overseas customers.
At this time, a solution is needed that can skip all the intermediate steps.
5. Skip customer expansion and build alliance: get customer inquiries directly
Vision Factory – a global cross-border live broadcast base for industrial products, specializes in solving the problems of cross-border customer acquisition for industrial products.
We use AI big data technology to push video advertisements of factory products directly to precise overseas customers.
When customers see videos on Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp, they will proactively contact the merchants if they are interested.
It ensures point-to-point connections with 150 precise buyers every year. The factory does not need to attract customers by itself, does not need to work hard to establish connections, and can directly obtain customer consultations.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand a foreign language.
Vision Factory has the Globalhead AI system, which can translate conversations with customers from various countries online in real time. When Chinese is sent, customers see the local language; foreign languages sent by customers are directly converted into Chinese.
The factory only needs to do one thing: receive the customer, chat with the customer, follow up, close the deal, and deliver the goods.
All other placement, customer acquisition, translation, and management are completed by Vision Factory.
For industrial product factories that don’t know how to go overseas and have no foreign trade team, this is the fastest way to get overseas orders.
Skip the trial period and get the inquiry directly.
