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How global manufacturing hub Dongguan adapts to changing markets

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By Hu Jian, He Linping, People’s Daily

One in five smart phones, one in four anime merchandise items, and one in five sweaters worldwide are made in Dongguan, a manufacturing hub in south China’s Guangdong province.
The economic pulse of Dongguan has long been synchronized with global industrial and supply chain dynamics.
In the first four months of this year, Dongguan recorded 486.35 billion yuan ($67.73 billion) in foreign trade, up 19.4% year on year. Exports alone reached 291.6 billion yuan, an 11.9% increase.
Dongguan has demonstrated notable resilience in navigating global market challenges, as evidenced by the performance of its manufacturing sector and companies like VIVO.
At VIVO’s quality testing laboratory in Dongguan, every new smartphone model undergoes a comprehensive series of rigorous assessments before move into mass production. Devices endure repeated 1-meter drop tests from 26 angles, undergo 150,000 power button actuations, and withstand 1,000 compression cycles under simulated real-world conditions.
In 2024, VIVO achieved global shipments exceeding over 97 million units, securing fourth position in worldwide market share by Q1 2025. The company maintains robust market resilience despite external challenges.
Vivo collaborates with nearly 400 supply chain partners across display, imaging, electronics, structural components, and semiconductors, with 25%of these partnerships have endured for over a decade. Multiple suppliers have achieved public listings during their collaboration with VIVO. This ecosystem reflects mutually beneficial growth between the manufacturer and its partners.
Currently serving over 500 million users across more than 60 countries and regions, VIVO emphasizes users-centric innovation. “Our commitment to customer-focused R&D investment provides the foundation to navigate market uncertainties, both domestically and internationally,” said the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer Hu Baishan.
VIVO’s story reflects the evolution of Dongguan’s mobile phone and electronics industry. Since the city produced its first mobile phone in 1995, it has grown into a global production center, now accounting for 1/5 of the world’s total output.
In Dongguan’s Binhaiwan New Area, construction is in full swing on an “AI Island,” which will integrate technology R&D, product manufacturing, and data services. “We aim to establish a national AI application demonstration zone within 6 years, generating an industrial output of 60 billion yuan,” said Luo Bin, an official with Binhaiwan New Area.
“In an uncertain global market, the key lies in focusing on making great products,” said an official with Dongguan’s bureau of industry and information technology. According to the official, the city is selecting key sectors with strong foundations and broad applications to systematically promote initiatives ranging from robotics product development to technological innovation and market integration.
But resilience doesn’t mean there’s no challenge. “Unilateral tariff hikes imposed by the United States led to the sudden cancellation of over 1,000 of our overseas orders. Now that tariffs have been adjusted, customers are resuming shipments, but costs remain high,” said Wang Zhen, chairman of a Dongguan-based toy and baby product manufacturer.
“Trade with the United States used to account for 20% of our exports, so we seized this opportunity to accelerate our transformation,” Wang said, holding up a toy resembling a mythical Baku – a dream-eating creature with a short trunk and a horn. “We’ve developed a full line of Baku-themed toys, with over 150 products now exported to Southeast Asia, Europe, and Japan, generating annual export sales of more than 10 million yuan.”
Adaptability has been critical. The company has enhanced its brand identity with culturally creative products and refined its marketing strategies by exploring integrated domestic and foreign sales. When Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com launched a 200-billion-yuan program this April to help exporters pivot to the domestic market, the company secured a 50-million-yuan domestic sales contract through the initiative.
Diversifying international markets is a shared priority among Dongguan enterprises. In the first 4 months of this year, Dongguan’s trade with Belt and Road partner countries grew 28.8% year on year, trade with ASEAN nations 45.4%, and trade with the five Central Asian countries 56.3%.
In March, in Dongguan’s Chashan township, where a toy and baby product manufacturer is based, the local government signed a strategic cooperation agreement with technology firms and industry associations to build an intelligent industry cluster that combines AI and toys. Just a month later, the first batch of locally developed AI-powered toys hit the market.
According to an official with Chashan township, no matter how global markets shift, Dongguan will remain committed to moving its industries up the value chain, thus enhancing technology, branding, and service capabilities to drive high-quality growth.

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DSS Moves Against Agbo, over Alleged impersonation as Benue PDP Guber candidate

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The operatives of the Department of State Security Services, DSS has laid a manhunt on embattled former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Benue State, over Alleged impersonation.

A highly placed Security source on Thursday, confirmed to our correspondent that the service is currently looking for Dr. Emmanuel Agbo for impersonating himself as the Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Benue state.

The source said that Dr. Agbo, must be interrogated to enable the service have an idea were his candidature was decided as well as venue it took place.

He further added that from preliminary findings Agbo, is playing a role of a ” useful idiot ” been sponsored by political bigwigs in the state that must be unravel by the service.

He queried that all the primary election that took place across the 36 states of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory was monitored by the DSS and reports were filed including that of Benue State which officially in the PDP, the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN emerged.

Already, a political pressure group has petitioed, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo who they Alleged he is now parading a “fake” Certificate of Return as the party’s candidate is just an “impostor” who didn’t participate in the party’s primaries in May, 2026.

“The Certificate of Return which the disbanded Turaki-led Interim National Executive Council presented to Dr. Agbo yesterday is fake and will not be recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission during the uploading of party candidates on their portal” the group noted.

The group however challenged Agbo to present evidence that he partook in the said primaries, and also make available proofs that representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission, officials of the party from Abuja as well as representatives of Nigeria’s security agencies were present in his own selection process if there is any.

The group stated further that there are proofs that Dr. Emmanuel Agbo is being sponsored by some “disgruntled” elements to ruin the chances of the People’s Democratic Party in the forthcoming governorship election in Benue state.

The statement reads in parts:”Emmanuel Agbo has been warned to desist from this act of impersonation before it’s too late, and if he fails to stop this act, we shall drag him before a competent court to face criminal charges.

“That he is being sponsored to ruin the chances of the party is no longer a secret but, we will make sure that we stop him and his co-travellers who are hell bent on destroying the party”

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EUYI Alleges Secret Recruitment, Job Racketeering in JAMB Ahead of Oloyede’s Exit

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The Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative (EUYI) has raised concerns over an alleged recruitment exercise conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), claiming that more than 100 employment letters were issued in June 2026, barely six weeks before the expiration of the tenure of JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Danesi Momoh Prince, and Secretary, Comrade Igwe Ude-Umanta, the group described the alleged recruitment exercise as secretive and called on relevant government agencies to investigate the matter.

According to EUYI, the recruitment process was allegedly carried out without public advertisement and may have violated established procedures governing employment into federal public institutions.

The organisation argued that the timing of the recruitment raises questions, particularly following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s appointment of Professor Segun Aina as the incoming Registrar of JAMB, effective July 30, 2026.

“There is no apparent urgency that would justify a major recruitment exercise by an administration that has only a few weeks remaining in office,” the statement said.

EUYI further alleged that previous recruitment exercises conducted during Professor Oloyede’s tenure had attracted public controversy and scrutiny from the National Assembly, although the JAMB management had maintained that it obtained the necessary approvals from the Federal Character Commission (FCC).

The group contended that if the latest allegations are confirmed, the exercise could amount to violations of constitutional and statutory provisions governing public sector recruitment. It cited Section 14(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and relevant provisions of the Federal Character Commission Establishment Act, which emphasize equitable representation, transparency, and compliance with federal character principles in public service appointments.

The advocacy group also called on the Federal Character Commission to clarify whether it approved the alleged recruitment exercise and, if so, whether all legal requirements were met before employment letters were issued.

In addition, EUYI urged anti-corruption agencies, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to investigate possible cases of nepotism, abuse of office, or other irregularities should evidence emerge to support such claims.

The organization stated that illegal recruitment practices and job racketeering have contributed significantly to the frustrations of millions of unemployed Nigerians, arguing that employment opportunities in public institutions should be transparent, merit-based, and accessible to all qualified citizens.

EUYI gave JAMB a three-day ultimatum to respond to the allegations and provide clarification regarding the reported recruitment exercise.

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THE GENETICS OF BETRAYAL: WHY ALIA WAS BORN TO FIGHT AKUME

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By Aondoakaa Tersugh Daniel | 22/06/2026

The moment Chief Hyacinth Iormen Alia took his oath of office, he turned his guns on Senator George Akume without any visible provocation, and the confusion that followed has lingered ever since. Akume himself could not hide his bewilderment. He has been quoted saying that people should pray for Father, because the man fighting him is not the Father he used to know. Yet a closer look into Alia’s family history reveals that this hostility is not new at all. It is simply genetics finding its way back to the surface.

Decades ago, when Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka championed the United Middle Belt Congress and became the face of that movement, Thomas Kastina Alia rose as his fiercest opponent within Benue. The elder Alia went as far as planting the headquarters of Nnamdi Azikiwe’s NCNC, the opposition party of that era, right inside Aliade, the very heartland of Tarka’s Masev support base. The rivalry between the two men was bitter and beyond repair.

As though that chapter of hostility was not enough, another figure emerged to continue the assignment. While Tarka served as a Minister, Godwin Dabo raised allegations of corruption against him, a move that eventually forced Tarka to resign from his position. That blow is widely remembered as one of the most damaging episodes of Tarka’s political career.

This raises a question the Kunav elite of today owe the younger generation an answer to. What truly happened between the Kunav and Jemgbagh people that birthed this chain of political vendetta? Thomas Alia, a Kunav son, frustrated Tarka of Jemgbagh first. Then it was as if a baton had been quietly passed to Godwin Dabo to finish the job. Both men were not only of Kunav extraction but shared the same Kyan constituency, a detail too specific to ignore.

It becomes difficult to understand why Akume, who descends directly from Tarka’s lineage, did not study this history closely enough to avoid walking into the same trap that Alia represents. There is an old saying that a blind man does not allow his roasted groundnuts to burn twice. If the first batch is ruined, he learns to manage the fire better on the second attempt, ensuring it comes out either half done or perfectly roasted. Akume has now looked history squarely in the face and still ended up handing power to the son of Tarka’s oldest political enemy.

So when people call this current war between Akume and Alia madness, they are not entirely wrong, but it is madness with deep roots. It is nothing more than a genetic expression of rivalry that has existed for generations, simply resurfacing in a new political season. Akume owes the memory of Tarka a final reckoning. The score can only be balanced if Akume does to Hyacinth Iormen Alia exactly what Godwin Dabo once did to Tarka.

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