Pandemic demand boosts China bicycle exports

People play with their bicycles on a street in Toronto, Canada, June 6, 2020. (Photo/China News Service)

(ECNS) -- With social distancing a recognized means to contain the novel coronavirus in some Europe countries, dramatic demand for bicycles has fueled Chinese export.

China is the world's largest exporter of bicycles, accounting for about 50 percent of the global output, said Chen Junbin, chief analyst of manufacturing at CITIC Securities.

In May, bicycle sales rose more than 22 times to Spain and four times to Italy and the UK, compared to the same month last year, according to AliExpress, a cross-border e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba.

Registration data also shows from January to May, China saw more than 50,000 new bike-related enterprises set up shop, a year-on-year growth of 41.08 percent, with the third month growing highest at 135.36 percent.

But some industry experts warned blind expansion is risky.

Recent panic buying alludes to temporary demand. Investors should avoid this unless a basic, permanent change in commuting occurs, said Jiang Han, an advanced researcher at Pangu Think Tank.