Safewell Group made its name selling safes and gun cabinets in Europe and the United States. Last year the Ningbo company opened a factory in Indonesia. That small detail says a good deal about where Chinese manufacturing is heading, according to China Daily.
The newspaper reported ahead of the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo, due to run in Nanning, in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, from Sept 17 to 21. Citing Ministry of Commerce data, it said cumulative two-way investment between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had exceeded $515 billion by the end of July.
From exporting to building on site
Analysts and executives quoted by China Daily described a change of approach. More manufacturers are no longer content to ship from plants in China. They want production capacity, local supply networks and market knowledge nearer to their buyers.
Li Guanghui, dean of academic affairs at the China-ASEAN School of Economics at Guangxi University in Nanning, called Southeast Asia a testing ground for Chinese companies building a global presence. Copying a model that worked at home will not be enough, he said, and the variety of ASEAN markets is forcing firms to be more flexible. Strategies, Li said, increasingly follow local shoppers, business habits and competition rather than a single regional formula.
Wang Liping, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s department of Asian affairs, pointed to room for more cooperation in the digital economy, green development and the blue economy. “Companies on both sides can make greater use of artificial intelligence, big data and the internet of things to better connect production, logistics and trade,” he said. Closer digital integration, Wang added, would let companies react faster to shifts in demand and make regional supply chains sturdier.
A security maker in Indonesia
Safewell has climbed from mechanical products to smart systems with biometric access and connected alarms. The division of labor is specific. Locking systems and electronic modules, the higher-value parts, are still made in China. Sheet metal and structural parts come from suppliers in Indonesia, where the plant also handles final assembly, testing and deliveries across the region.
Wang Lei, the company’s vice-president, told the paper that Indonesia’s growing middle-income population and expanding retail sector are lifting demand for security products in homes, hotels, shops and financial outlets. Safewell’s exports to ASEAN markets rose 12 percent year-on-year between January and August.
The wider trade picture from Ningbo Customs: the city’s exports to ASEAN rose 23.7 percent year-on-year to 82.89 billion yuan ($12.35 billion) in the first seven months of 2026.
Speakers made in Vietnam
Guoguang Electric Co, a Guangzhou maker of speakers and acoustic components, has added capacity at its plant in Vietnam, opened in 2019. Guangzhou Customs information cited by China Daily showed the factory still draws antennas, connectors and adapters from the company’s Chinese operations for Bluetooth speakers.
Luo Lijuan, the company’s logistics director, said about 70 percent of its customers are overseas. The Vietnam investment followed a review of logistics routes, transport costs, rules of origin and customer requirements. “Having production in Vietnam gives us greater flexibility in fulfilling overseas orders and reduces our reliance on capacity in a single market,” she said.
