In 2025, the development of the domestic hardware manufacturing industry will be difficult.
Raw material prices fluctuate frequently, the terminal price war has entered a fierce stage, the accounts receivable cycle continues to lengthen, and more seriously, tariff barriers in the European and American markets are increasingly thickening.
The past development model of relying on “low price + OEM” has completely failed, and many export business owners are in trouble.
In this context, Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, has become the “second battlefield” that Chinese hardware and intelligent manufacturing companies must pay attention to.
However, opening up the Vietnamese market is not easy, and we cannot simply send goods there.
Problems such as language barriers, lack of channels, and customer distrust make it often costly to go overseas rashly.
A professional industry exhibition has become the most efficient and lowest-risk entry point.
From June 24 to 26, 2026, the “Vietnam International Hardware Tools Exhibition” and the “Vietnam International Smart Factory Exhibition” will be held simultaneously at the SECC Convention and Exhibition Center in Ho Chi Minh City.
This is not only the only independently held professional international exhibition in the field of hardware tools in Vietnam, but also a “golden springboard” for Chinese companies to enter the Vietnamese and ASEAN markets.
Why do you have to choose Vietnam?
This is evident from three key data.
First of all, Vietnam’s economic size is exploding.
Vietnam’s GDP will grow by 7.09% in 2024, reaching a total of US$476.3 billion, and per capita GDP will be approximately US$4,700.
In 2025, the GDP growth target exceeds 8.0%, and the total volume exceeds 500 billion US dollars. In 2026, double-digit growth is targeted.
Among its 104 million people, there are about 72 million working-age people over 18 years old, and the urbanization rate is 37%, which almost replicates China’s growth curve around 2000.
Secondly, China and Vietnam are extremely dependent on trade.
Vietnam-China trade volume will exceed US$205 billion in 2024, an increase of 19.4% compared with 2023.
China is not only Vietnam’s largest trading partner, but also its largest source of imports.
In the field of hardware tools, more than 50% of Vietnam’s imports come from China, which is three times higher than the second largest source of imports, South Korea.
Finally, Vietnam’s local production capacity is seriously insufficient.
Vietnam’s metal processing and technical products currently mainly rely on imports, with less than 10% of its own production capacity.
With the acceleration of urbanization and infrastructure development, Vietnam’s hardware and building materials market revenue will reach US$13.19 billion in 2024. This is a market where “supply exceeds demand”, and Made in China is the best solution to fill the gap.
However, there are three invisible barriers to exporting to Vietnam.
First, the cost of trust is extremely high.
Vietnamese businessmen attach great importance to “relationships” and “offline meetings” when doing business. Without local endorsement and face-to-face negotiations, it is difficult to establish long-term cooperation with only emails and samples.
Second, channels are extremely fragmented.
Vietnam’s hardware market does not have a mature building materials city system like China’s. Customers are scattered in multiple industrial belts such as Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, etc. The time and labor costs of expanding the market on your own are extremely high.
Third, there are hidden dangers in logistics and compliance.
Shipping exhibits to Vietnam involves multiple links including customs clearance, local transportation, and booth construction. Problems in any link may lead to the embarrassing situation of “people arrive, but goods don’t arrive.”
So, why can an exhibition solve 80% of the problems of going overseas?
The exhibition is essentially a “condensed market”.
In a relationship-based business society like Vietnam, exhibitions provide not just booths, but “accelerators” for trust building.
First, the density of precise buyers is extremely high.
The last Vietnam International Hardware Tools Exhibition in 2025 had an exhibition area of over 8,800 square meters, attracting nearly 300 companies from many countries to participate in the exhibition, and 13,368 professional visitors from 36 countries/regions attended the exhibition for procurement negotiations. There were more than 362 B2B matching sessions at the exhibition, allowing companies to directly face people with purchasing decision-making power.
Secondly, the media endorsement effect is significant.
Numerous radio and television stations and media magazines covered the entire event, and the brand exposure of exhibitors was equivalent to free advertising covering the entire country of Vietnam.
Thirdly, the concurrent forum brings circle value.
At the international forum held concurrently with the exhibition, most of the participants are core members of national industry associations. It is the most efficient way to “break through the circle” for companies that want to break into Vietnam’s supply chain system.
Finally, the linkage of the two exhibitions covers the entire industry chain.
“Vietnam International Smart Factory Exhibition” and “Vietnam International Hardware Tools Exhibition” are held at the same time and in the same place, which can meet the needs of different types of enterprises.
Choosing the right organizer is also crucial.
Jiangsu Lianya International Exhibition Co., Ltd., as the core exhibition organization in China for this exhibition, is highly professional.
It was founded in 2001 and is a member of relevant international associations. It has been awarded AAA credit rating, has also won many honors, and has been recognized as a “Qualified Service Provider” by the Commerce Departments of many provinces and cities.
Lianya provides “full chain services” and can solve problems such as booth reservation, exhibit transportation, visa processing, etc. in one stop. It also sets up exhibition groups for companies that want to inspect the market.
The essence of involution is homogeneous competition, while the essence of going overseas is to find structural opportunities.
When Vietnam opened its door to Chinese manufacturing with its high GDP growth, tariff advantages and high dependence on hardware imports, the cost of hesitation was far higher than the cost of trial and error.
From June 24 to 26, 2026, at the SECC Convention and Exhibition Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Chinese hardware companies may wish to go to Vietnam to meet real buyers.
