With just two months until Christmas, workers at a factory owned by Jurong Baoli Crafts Co Ltd, a Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province-based toys and giftware manufacturer, were busy assembling stuffed fabric Santa dolls.

The Christmas-related giftware items are being packed for shipment to the Netherlands and Germany.

In recent years, the Chinese exporter has added electronic components and other alluring features to align with global trends and meet customer needs.

"Our orders have surged significantly this year, especially from countries like Singapore, Brazil, New Zealand and Finland," said Wang Hui, the company's business director. "This batch is the last of our Christmas orders. We must complete production and ship immediately to ensure on-time arrivals for the holiday season."

"After mid-October, we will focus on non-Christmas-themed toys and expanding into emerging markets," said Wang, adding the company's total export orders for the Christmas season have reached 6.95 million yuan ($977,200) this year, a 37 percent increase over the same period in 2023.

China's foreign trade grew 5.3 percent year-on-year to 32.33 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, with exports up 6.2 percent, said the General Administration of Customs.

This growth is driven by several factors, including the diversification of China's export markets, increasing business and consumer demand in emerging regions, and changing global trade dynamics.

As Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and South America play a larger role in global supply chains, these trends are boosting China's trade expansion, said Xiao Lu, deputy director-general of the department of foreign trade at the Ministry of Commerce.

China's foreign trade value with over 160 countries and regions continued to grow during the January-September period. In the meantime, its imports and exports with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative rose 6.3 percent year-on-year to 15.21 trillion yuan, accounting for 47.1 percent of the country's foreign trade, Customs data show.

As emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America boast large, young populations and growing middle-income groups, Peng Bo, a researcher specializing in foreign trade at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said these factors will further drive demand for consumer goods, technology and infrastructure — areas where Chinese companies excel.

For example, China saw its foreign trade value with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations soar 9.4 percent year-on-year to 5.09 trillion yuan between January and September, Customs data show.

"As these economies continue to grow, they offer substantial market potential for Chinese exports, providing an avenue for China to diversify its trade partnerships beyond developed economies," said Peng.

That sentiment also aligns with the latest market trend. At the 136th session of the China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, buyers from emerging markets have steadily taken the lead, surpassing those from Europe and North America as the primary participants, according to the Guangzhou, Guangdong province-based China Foreign Trade Center, a Canton Fair organizer under the Ministry of Commerce.

The global trade event, held twice a year in spring and autumn, is being held from Oct 15 through Nov 4 in Guangzhou.

A total of 125,000 overseas buyers had registered for the 136th session of the fair by Oct 9. Among them, about 76 percent are from countries and regions involved in the BRI, while 12.5 percent are from North America and Europe, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Liu Yonghui, a sales manager at Guangzhou Jetinno Intelligent Equipment Co Ltd, a coffee machine manufacturer, said this is the company's fourth time participating in the Canton Fair and it hopes to secure more orders from overseas customers through the event.

Despite the current slowdown in global economic growth and the rise of protectionism and unilateralism, he said that Europe remains the company's most important overseas market. Moreover, markets in Asia, the Middle East and South America have also been growing quickly in the past two years.

Huang Zhimin, chairman of Fujian Time and Tianhe Industrial Co Ltd, a Quanzhou, Fujian province-based maternal and infant product manufacturer, said that the company's export value grew by 20 percent year-on-year from January to September.

"In addition to running OEM (original equipment manufacturer) business, we plan to leverage both domestic and international trade shows to expand our own brands into more emerging markets and attract new clients in the fourth quarter," said Huang.

Emerging markets, with their substantial market potential and promising growth prospects, are also drawing an increasing number of Chinese businesses in search of business opportunities, said Liu Qian, deputy dean of the Belt and Road School at Beijing Normal University.

Viewing the ASEAN markets as crucial to its global business strategy, Chinese electric vehicle maker Avatr entered the Thai market in September, joining a long list of Chinese automakers, including BYD, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, exploring that country.

"We aim to establish Thailand as a strategic market for our business growth in Southeast Asia," said Chen Zhuo, the company's president.

In 2023, nearly 80 percent of China's outbound direct investment flowed into Asia, a 13.9 percent increase compared with the previous year. Of this, Chinese companies' investment in ASEAN reached $25.12 billion, an increase of 34.7 percent on a yearly basis, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Han Yonghui, a professor specializing in foreign trade at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said that Chinese companies, once heavily reliant on customer demand to drive production and often passive in the competitive landscape, are now leveraging accumulated capital and technology to demonstrate their innovation and technological prowess.

For instance, around 390,000 digital and smart products are being showcased during the 136th Canton Fair, a 300 percent surge compared to the previous edition, while the number of green and low-carbon products has risen 130 percent to over 1.04 million, said the fair's organizer.

By embracing digital and green concepts, Chinese manufacturers are actively shaping the market's future direction, said Han.

Similar views were expressed by Lyu Daliang, director-general of the GAC's department of statistics and analysis, who said that as the global new energy sector is undergoing rapid development, China's exports of tech-intensive green products have strengthened global supplies and contributed to the easing of inflationary pressure.

These exports are also instrumental in addressing climate change and supporting the global green transition, said Lyu.

Collectively, exports of China's "new trio" — namely electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products — totaled 757.83 billion yuan in the first nine months, accounting for 4.1 percent of the country's total exports. These products have reached over 200 countries and regions and are widely welcomed worldwide, according to information released by the GAC.

Wang Lingjun, vice-minister of the GAC, said that with the continued implementation of existing policies and the introduction of new policies, the positive factors for foreign trade development have accumulated. China has the foundation for stable trade growth in the fourth quarter.