The cultural exchange event Encounter & Insight: Dialogue Between Ningbo, China and Colombo, Sri Lanka took place in Colombo on July 4, 2026, reconnecting two millennia-old port cities. The dialogue focused on integrated port-city development and bilateral economic and trade connectivity, echoing the ancient Maritime Silk Road while charting a new outbound development path powered by smart manufacturing.
Historically, merchant vessels from Mingzhou Port carried Yue Kiln celadon porcelain to Ceylon, bringing back gemstones and spices. Today, shipments have transformed dramatically, with intelligent equipment, digital home appliances, and industrial robots now dominating exports. Official statistics show Ningbo's exports of intelligent equipment, including mechanical arms and industrial robots, reached 440 million yuan in 2025, surging over 40% year-on-year. From January to May 2026, exports of mechanical and electrical products grew 4.1% to 247 billion yuan, accounting for 58.0% of total exports. New energy foreign trade 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%.
An exhibition at the Colombo forum highlighted Ningbo's going-global enterprises and their products, illustrating the shift in trade structure. Alongside traditional celadon and silk, smart manufactured products like AI translation glasses, intelligent outdoor gear, and digital small home appliances were prominently displayed. 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, Ningbo's smart manufactured goods are distributed to Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. What Ningbo exports now is not mere commodities but a complete outbound solution integrating technology, brand value, and after-sales services.
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, all industrial enterprises above designated size have achieved full digital upgrading. Local factories have built unmanned black-light workshops and flexible production lines, escaping vicious price competition through continuous technological iteration. Five specialized enterprises known as Ningbo's "Five Little Tigers" have developed differentiated technical routes and full-spectrum production capacity, cementing irreplaceable competitiveness in global markets.
Beyond trade, Ningbo has built a supporting cultural communication system to ensure "products go global, accompanied by local culture." The launch of Sri Lanka's first "One-Meter Cultural Space" during the Colombo event marks a milestone. These miniature cultural exhibition halls, built on enterprises' overseas outlets, integrate 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.
From Tang-dynasty celadon porcelain sailing across the Indian Ocean to intelligent equipment shipping globally, Ningbo has preserved its openness. Where exchanges once relied purely on commodity trade, today smart manufacturing underpins a stable, diversified, and high-value-added global trade network. The Ningbo-Colombo dialogue is a microcosm of this transformation: the port still links lands and seas, but the core of its trade has undergone a full intelligent upgrade. Rooted in its historical legacy as a key Maritime Silk Road hub, Ningbo has consolidated its industrial foundation through digital development, expanded global market reach via port networks, and softened trade cooperation through cultural exchanges.
