As the Spring Festival, which falls on January 29 this year, draws near, demand for festive decorations, particularly lanterns, is reaching a peak in China.
In Xiuning County of east China's Anhui Province, traditional handcrafted lanterns are seeing a significant surge in sales.
At a lantern factory, workers are busy making a variety of red lanterns, known for their bright colors and beautiful designs. Recently, these traditional lanterns have experienced a boom in sales, with local businesses reporting a sharp increase in orders and a doubling of their sales volume.
"Now we're in the peak season of lantern production. We have increased the production lines from six to eight. We are working overtime every day, producing more than 4,000 lanterns per day. In one month, the number is expected to reach hundreds of thousands, more than double the usual amount," said Liu Penghui, general manager of a light decoration company in Huangshan City.
In addition to traditional lanterns, innovative designs have also gained in popularity.
Among the most sought-after are LED lanterns, which create dynamic light effects and have a three-dimensional feel.
These modern lanterns are especially favored by younger consumers, prompting many local businesses to expand their production capacity to meet the growing market demand. Meanwhile, in Nanchang City of east China's Jiangxi Province, a renowned dragon lantern production base is also witnessing a surge in both domestic and international orders.
With over 50 workers involved on the production line, the factory is operating at full capacity.
More than 100 finished dragon lanterns are produced daily on average.
The factory has received over 3,500 orders in the month prior to the Spring Festival, accounting for more than 30 percent of the annual total.
"Many orders were placed at the end of the year, and we now are working overtime to produce them," said Shi Kebin, a dragon lantern craftsman.
While preserving traditional techniques, local manufacturers have continuously innovated, breathing new life into this ancient craft.
"We updated the old version at the end of 2024. Based on the original structure, we use engineering plastics to replace the bamboo. It is lighter. Besides, there is no danger of being infested or smelling musty," said Shi.
Festive lantern sales soar as Spring Festival nears
A 25 percent import tariff on all foreign-built vehicles entering the United States has raised serious concerns for manufacturers in South Africa.
Automotive giants like Mercedes and BMW have long used South Africa as a base for global exports -- but those plans may be shifting into reverse gear after the U.S. announced the punitive measures.
"If you take, for example, BMW, 97 percent of the X3 that we are producing in Rosslyn is exported out of the country. We only sell 3 percent in South Africa, and there's a huge number of those vehicles that also go into the U.S. So there are companies in South Africa that are purely here not because they are selling vehicles in South Africa; they are here to produce vehicles for the global market, and it's important for them to remain globally competitive," said Mike Mabasa, CEO of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa.
U.S. automaker Ford, which has deep roots in South Africa, is also in the crosshairs.
The company recently invested over 300 million U.S. dollars to upgrade its Silverton plant in Pretoria, South Africa, for the production of the world's only plug-in hybrid Ranger, which has just entered production but could face delays or restrictions.
"If an American citizen wants to buy specifically a Ford Ranger that is a plug-in hybrid, they can only place an order in South Africa, nowhere else in the world. So, that means, obviously, the capacity of Ford to be able to produce those vehicles in big volumes is going to be constrained, because Americans are going be looking at another Ford that is produced in another country, or even in the United States," said Mabasa.
South Africa has long enjoyed duty-free automotive exports to the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, but that relationship now hangs in the balance.
A sharp shift in U.S. foreign policy threatens to derail an industry that employs thousands and contributes around 5 percent to the country's economy.
"We produce less than 1 percent of global automotive vehicles, so to say. So, in reality, the impact on us is likely to be more disproportionate than those of our peers that produce at the same level. And the risk is actually created -- a concentration risk -- in countries that have greater capacity and are building more; in those countries will be able to absorb some of this," said Parks Tau, South Africa's minister of trade and industry.
Amid growing concerns about overreliance on the U.S. market, Amith Singh, national manager for manufacturing at Nedbank Commercial Bank, emphasized the importance of tapping into regional trade opportunities.
"I think we need to make better use of some of our local agreements, our African continental agreements. How do we leverage that? How do we partner with the government and private sector to start benefiting the countries and the economies aside from the United States? So, those could be the catalyst to drive our localization projects; it could be what we need to drive the African economy as opposed to being completely reliant on the States (United States)," he said.
South Africa is for now standing firm in its decision not to retaliate against steep U.S. import tariffs, set to take effect in just a few days.
Officials in Pretoria acknowledge the challenges posed by the current U.S. administration but are pursuing a diplomatic approach in hopes of maintaining stable relations and preserving the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
US tariffs rock South Africa’s auto industry
