China's tire industry is a growth logic, and high-quality tire companies are expected to be among the world's top

To achieve the smooth operation of overseas bases is an important embodiment of a stronger comprehensive management ability of enterprises, and the enterprises that take the lead in building factories are expected to create a profit upward spiral. Due to the challenges faced by many overseas factories, such as government relations, language and culture, laws and regulations, infrastructure conditions, business environment, exchange rate changes, and raw material transportation, the success of the whole process of site selection, construction and operation not only tests the strategic vision of entrepreneurs, but also reflects the strong comprehensive management ability of enterprises. Tire enterprises that successfully build factories overseas can copy and upgrade the experience in the process, and establish an upward spiral of "successful operation of overseas bases - expansion of overseas markets - improvement of profitability - abundant cash flow - further strengthening of domestic and overseas construction and upgrading of comprehensive capabilities". Southeast Asia is close to the main raw material producing areas of tires, which is the center of gravity of the layout of tire enterprises in China. Southeast Asia is the main planting region and the main export region of natural rubber, of which Thailand is the largest producer of natural rubber, 2010-2021 Thailand's natural rubber production accounted for more than 30% of the world's total. Of the natural rubber imported by China in 2021, about 90% of natural rubber originated from Southeast Asia. Among them, the proportion of natural rubber imported from Thailand is the highest, close to 50%, followed by Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, accounting for 14.9%, 7.6%, 7.4% and 6% of China's total imported rubber. In addition to the proximity to high-quality raw material production areas, the low labor costs in Southeast Asia are also conducive to reducing the production costs of tire companies.

We sorted out the overseas production bases of major listed tire companies in China, and in the early stage of going to sea (2012-2019), most tire companies were located in Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia, and the infrastructure construction conditions and geographical location of the two countries had obvious advantages over other Southeast Asian countries at that time. However, since June 2020, the United States has carried out a double-reverse investigation of passenger car and light truck tires of tire companies in some countries and regions in Southeast Asia. In May 2021, the US Department of Commerce announced the final ruling, imposing anti-dumping duties of 14.62%-21.09% on passenger car and light truck tires imported from Thailand, imposing anti-dumping duties of 0%-22.27% on Vietnam, and imposing countervailing duty rates of 6.23%-7.89% on Vietnam. Although the tax rate will be adjusted in the later period, this also reflects the accumulation of a large amount of production capacity and exports in a certain area, or more susceptible to international trade risks, to tire companies in the production base layout to remind.

In the second phase of going to sea (2020-present), Chinese enterprises are diversifying overseas, turning their eyes to Cambodia and other countries/regions except Southeast Asia, and tire export tariffs are a key factor affecting the layout. Since 2020, Cambodia has become the focus of the layout of tire enterprises. Cambodia enjoys greater tax incentives from Western countries, has rich and cheap human resources, a more secure political environment, preferential trade status, etc., the above advantages help it attract a lot of foreign investment, and there is no double reverse tax rate for tire products exported from Cambodia to the United States, which is a big benefit for tire exports. In addition to Southeast Asia, China's tire companies also began to lay out in Morocco, Serbia and other European regions. Rusen Kirin builds a production base in Morocco, which is located in the key transportation hub of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and implements the preferential corporate income tax policy of "five exemptions and then half" for Chinese investment enterprises, and its tire products enjoy zero tariffs when exported to the United States and Europe. The rich experience accumulated by Chinese tire enterprises in building factories in Southeast Asia makes it possible to have more overseas production layout, which can radiate a broader market and disperse the tariff risks of centralized layout. In addition to Southeast Asia, the layout of the region is also a direct manifestation of the strength of Chinese tire companies.