Turkish trader sets up shop in Tianjin

TIANJIN — Oguzhan Arslan from Turkiye and his wife Xiaoai, a native of Tianjin, have been busier than ever as business has surged at their international trade startup.

Checking new orders from abroad via email, keeping up with the status of shipments and contacting suppliers to check the quality of goods takes up most of their time.

"We are currently a very small business, so we need to be handson," said Arsland, 29. "Recently, the recovery of the Chinese market has led to increasing demand from global consumers. I have to work around the clock when orders pour in."

The couple started their business, which sells a wide range of Chinese-made daily necessities to overseas customers, in Tianjin late last year. "Many customized requirements can be met in China. It seems there is nothing that Chinese manufacturers cannot make," Arslan said.

As far as he is concerned, the country's strong manufacturing base, open business environment and smooth logistics system are fertile ground for their company.

He recalled how in January, a Chinese printing company handled one of his orders from Turkiye, producing 60,000 leaflets and completing delivery within a week. "We usually have time differences in communication with overseas customers. To meet their needs in time, we contact Chinese manufacturers as soon as possible, and they always reply quickly," Arslan said.

He has also benefited greatly from Tianjin's geographic advantages. "As a port city, Tianjin has a very developed transportation network. It is very convenient to transport goods by sea or by air," he said.

Following the introduction of optimized COVID-19 response measures, Arslan feels positive about the recovery of China's economy and improvement of its opening-up efforts. "Our shipping is running smoothly. We can promise a more accurate lead time to customers, which improves our growth," he said.

Currently, the company has customers from more than 20 countries and regions, including Turkiye, Spain and Dubai. "Chinese products are popular overseas, and our return customers are increasing day-by-day," Arslan said.

His introduction into sales began at an early age.

"Both of my grandfathers ran grocery stores for living. When I was young, I would lend a hand in the stores when needed," he said.

For him, selling and buying mean more than just exchanging goods and money.

"When a deal is done and I feel the satisfaction of both sides, I get a special sense of fulfillment. That's why I decided to go for business as a career," he said.

Arslan studied business administration in Turkiye but yearned for the opportunity to get involved in China's market and huge processing and manufacturing base, which produces a wide variety of commodities.

"China has been developing quickly in recent years and is committed to sharing its achievements with the world. Studying in China will give me more opportunities," he said.

After studying Chinese for nearly two years, Arslan decided to further his studies at Tianjin University in 2019. "I majored in information management and information systems. Many of the courses equipped me with basic business knowledge, such as how to use big data to do business analysis, which is very helpful today," he said.

Arslan married a Tianjin native who helped him start their business.

"I hope we can create our own brand in the future and recommend more specialized Chinese products to the world," he said.

Xinhua