China’s toy exports in high demand during coronavirus lockdowns, especially in the United States

A new report by the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association says there was a 7.5 per cent increase in exported toys in 2020, as people sought to entertain themselves and their kids during the pandemic
Industry document highlights the extent to which the West has relied on Chinese products amid coronavirus lockdowns

China economy

Orange Wang

Published: 8:30pm, 9 Apr 2021

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China’s toy sector is booming, and the United States remains the top destination for those toys despite the impact of the coronavirus and protracted bilateral tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

With the pandemic fuelling a “stay-at-home economy”, there has been a greater reliance on Chinese goods, according to the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association (CTJIPA).

The industry organisation said in a white paper issued on Thursday that the total value of exported toys – excluding certain types of games – in coronavirus-ravaged 2020 rose by 7.5 per cent from a year earlier, reaching US$33.49 billion and marking the fifth straight year that China’s toy exports have increased.

Shipments to the US grew by 6.8 per cent to US$8.57 billion last year, accounting for nearly a quarter of all Chinese toy exports, according to the report. The US also maintained its status as the largest overseas market for Chinese toys, followed by Britain and Japan.

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But compared with the strong increase in toy exports, China’s own market for toys appeared to be flatter. Domestic retail sales of toys increased by only 2.6 per cent last year, totalling 77.97 billion yuan (US$11.9 billion), according to the white paper.

The industry document offers new insight into China’s strong position in global trade, while also highlighting the extent to which the West has relied on Chinese products amid the pandemic.

The US and Europe have been producing and exporting less due to coronavirus lockdowns, while Chinese factories have been winning more orders since China became the first major economy in the world to recover from the impact of the coronavirus.

The Beijing-based association attributed the robust export growth to increased demand for products to keep people entertained indoors when they were forced or encouraged to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Foreign demand for Chinese ‘stay-at-home economy’ products is likely to continue for a period of time

China Toy and Juvenile Products Association

“Foreign demand for Chinese ‘stay-at-home economy’ products is likely to continue for a period of time,” the association had earlier forecast in a note early last month, adding that “uncertainties” still remained in the industrial and supply chains due to overseas outbreaks.

Even as the US and China continue to square off on a range of issues – from technology to Hong Kong to Xinjiang – under the new administration of US President Joe Biden, their rivalry has failed to slow the Chinese toy trade.

Compared with the same period last year, exports of Chinese toys grew 96.8 per cent in the January-February period, while toy exports to the US soared by 159.9 per cent, even though the first two months of the year are traditionally a slow season for the industry, according to the CTJIPA.

The administration of former US president Donald Trump had once planned to impose a 15 per cent tariff on Chinese toys from December 2019, but the move was indefinitely postponed before the signing of the phase one trade deal in January 2020.

In addition to toys, products for infants and children have also seen strong demand overseas, according to the CTJIPA. Exports of prams increased 23.5 per cent in the January-February period from a year earlier, totalling US$210 million. Again, the US was the top destination.

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For all of 2020, China’s exports of prams increased by 28.3 per cent to US$4.34 billion, according to the white paper. And shipments to the US were up 22.9 per cent to US$1.1 billion.

On Tuesday, Chinese customs is expected to release preliminary trade data for March and for the first quarter. These figures will help gauge how well the world’s second-largest economy has recovered this year.

Gao Feng, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said China’s foreign trade got off to a good start in the first quarter, and a survey of more than 20,000 companies by the ministry showed that they had more orders in hand compared with the same period last year.

“[But] companies also report that there are still many [obstacles] facing trade this year, such as uncertainties involving the pandemic; instability in the international industrial chain and supply chain; and complexities in the international environment,” he said at a press conference on Thursday.

“We will maintain the continuity, stability and sustainability of the policy … doing everything possible to push forward the stable development of imports and exports.”