Trade lane
Europe → China: getting European goods into China
Most of the freight market runs the other way. On this lane the shipping is the easy part — what decides the first order is the product itself: what China admits, what the producer can document, and what the label has to say.
- Hubs
- MILAN · HAMBURG · NINGBO
- Modes
- Sea · Air
- We take on
- Sourcing · Purchase · Import requirements · Freight
- Working languages
- English · 中文 · Russian
- MILANEurope
- HAMBURGEurope
- NINGBOChina
The Europe to China corridor: MILAN → HAMBURG → NINGBO. Goods are collected across Europe, consolidated for the sea leg out of the northern ports and cleared into China at NINGBO. Air freight covers what cannot wait for a vessel.
01 — The full cycle
What we do before anything leaves Europe
Freight is rarely what stops a first shipment into China. Paperwork on the product is.
- 01Finding the producerWe shortlist European manufacturers against the specification, the volume and the price your buyer can work with.
- 02Vetting and negotiatingCompany documents, capacity, samples, export terms, and packaging that survives a long sea leg.
- 03Buying on your behalfContract, payment, production and dispatch control. With no export contract of your own, we buy in our own name.
- 04Checking what China admitsProduct code, certification, producer registration where the category requires it, Chinese labelling and the documents customs will ask for — settled before the contract, not at the port.
- 05Consolidating across EuropeSeveral producers in several countries collected into one shipment on one set of documents.
- 06Clearing both endsExport clearance in Europe and import clearance in China, with the duties and taxes counted before you commit.
02 — The job
What clients bring to this lane
A buyer in China is ready to order and we have never exported.
Find us a European producer and bring the first order into NINGBO.
Our goods sat at the port over the labelling. Sort the paperwork out for the next one.
03 — Modes
How we move it on this lane
- SeaThe default for volume out of Europe: machinery, materials, packaged food and drink. A full container or a shared one, out of the northern ports.
- AirUrgent and high-value: buyer samples, spare parts, short shelf life, a first order that has to reach the shelf in season. Priced by weight, so the goods have to justify the flight.
04 — Nearby
What exporters read alongside this lane
05 — Questions
What exporters ask first
We have never exported to China. Where does it start?
It starts with the product, not the shipment. We check the customs code, what certification the category needs, whether the producer has to be registered before goods can enter, and what the Chinese label must carry. Only then does the commercial side make sense: price, volume, packaging, terms. Doing it in that order is what keeps a first order from being held at the port.
What does China require before the goods can enter?
It depends entirely on the category. Some products need compulsory certification, some need the overseas producer registered before a single box arrives, food and drink carry their own labelling rules, and everything hangs on the customs code the goods are classified under. We work that list out for your specific product, tell you which documents the producer must supply, and say plainly when a requirement makes the shipment uneconomic.
Sea or air?
Sea for volume and weight, air for time and value. A first order for a buyer who is testing the product often justifies air even though it costs more per kilogram: the goods reach the shelf while the interest is still there. Repeat volume moves by sea. We price both for your consignment before you decide.
Can you find the buyers as well, not just ship the goods?
Yes — that is the market entry service rather than this lane. We look for buyers and distributors, test how the product is priced against what is already on the shelf, and build the import side around it. Shipping is what happens once someone on the other end has agreed to buy.
Have a product for the Chinese market?
Tell us what it is and who is buying — or that nobody is yet. We come back with the import requirements, the route and a cost estimate.