On July 4, 2026, the cultural exchange event "Encounter & Insight: Dialogue Between Ningbo, China and Colombo, Sri Lanka" took place in Colombo, reconnecting the two millennia-old port cities to discuss integrated port-city development and bilateral economic connectivity. This cross-Indian Ocean dialogue echoes the ancient Maritime Silk Road while charting a new outbound development path powered by smart manufacturing.
A thousand years ago, Mingzhou Port's merchant vessels sailed south with Yue Kiln celadon porcelain, passing through Ceylon to deliver Oriental crafts. Today, the cargo has transformed dramatically: intelligent equipment, digital home appliances, and industrial robots dominate shipments. Official statistics show Ningbo's exports of intelligent equipment, including mechanical arms and industrial robots, hit 440 million yuan in 2025, surging more than 40% year-on-year. From January to May 2026, exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 247 billion yuan, a 4.1% year-on-year increase, accounting for 58.0% of the city's total export volume. The new energy sector saw explosive growth, with exports of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products jumping 138.4% year-on-year, and electric vehicle exports skyrocketing 215.9%.
Complementing the Colombo forum, an exhibition highlights Ningbo's going-global enterprises, showcasing smart manufactured products like AI translation glasses, intelligent outdoor gear, and digital small home appliances. In Sri Lanka, Ningbo smart water meters are widely adopted, and handheld cooling fans and intelligent kitchen appliances have entered ordinary households. Leveraging Colombo Port's transshipment advantages, massive volumes of Ningbo smart manufactured goods are distributed to Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. What Ningbo exports today is no longer mere commodities but a complete outbound solution integrating technology, brand value, and after-sales services.
Facing homogeneous global market competition and rising trade barriers, Ningbo's manufacturing sector has abandoned low-cost OEM production, relying on intelligent transformation to consolidate its competitive edge. Over more than a decade of digital transformation, Ningbo has achieved full digital upgrading of all industrial enterprises above designated size. Local factories have built unmanned black-light workshops and flexible production lines, escaping vicious price competition through continuous technological iteration. Represented by five specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative enterprises dubbed Ningbo's "Five Little Tigers," these niche manufacturers have developed differentiated technical routes and full-spectrum production capacity, cementing irreplaceable competitiveness for Ningbo smart manufacturing on global markets.
Beyond trade expansion, Ningbo has built a supporting cultural communication system. The launch of Sri Lanka's first "One-Meter Cultural Space" cultural station during the Colombo event integrates intangible cultural heritage crafts, urban stories, and smart products, enabling overseas clients to experience cutting-edge manufacturing while gaining insight into Ningbo's cultural heritage. During the twin-city story-sharing session, Ningbo entrepreneurs and local designers shared stories of bilateral exchanges, evolving economic ties into a bond for people-to-people communication.
From Tang-dynasty celadon porcelain to intelligent equipment, Ningbo, the ancient Maritime Silk Road port, has preserved its enduring gene of openness. The Ningbo-Colombo dialogue stands as a vivid microcosm of this transformation: the port still links lands and seas, yet the core of its trade has undergone a full intelligent upgrade. Rooted in its historical legacy, Ningbo has consolidated its industrial foundation through digital development, expanded global market reach via port networks, and softened trade cooperation through cultural exchanges. This brand-new outbound shipping route forged by smart manufacturing has reshaped the city's foreign trade landscape and delivered a replicable port-city development model for Chinese manufacturing to go global.
