More toy innovations coming out of China: industry expert

NEW YORK - At lease 70 percent of all toys selling in the United States are made in China and there are a lot more toy-related innovations coming out of China, the global trend hunter and toy industry expert Reyne Rice has said.

It may not be surprising that approximately 80 percent of toys produced worldwide are made in China, as the country has been a crucial part of global toy supply chain for over a decade. Local Chinese toy producers are also doing better jobs in toy innovation and design, with their comprehensive global competitiveness advancing.

"Now, we are seeing a lot of toys that are actually being designed, manufactured and executed in China by Chinese companies," Rice told Xinhua in an interview during the ongoing 2019 North American International Toy Fair in New York City.

Chinese toy producer Shenzhen Bell Creative Science and Education has just won the startup category prize of ToyAward, an internationally recognized prize of Spielwarenmesse, the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in German, in 2019. Spielwarenmesse was held annually since 1949 and is the world's largest international trade fair for toys and games.

"(The jurors) could choose from any company in the world that are start-ups. And they chose a company from China," said Rice.

With over 30 years' experience in the toy industry, Rice believes the threat of 25 percent tariff on all products imported by the United States from China would be "devastating for the (toy) industry".

In addition, Chinese toy manufacturers have worked with toy companies in the United States and other countries for years, it is not easy for other countries to replace China in toy manufacturing, noted Rice.

Growing demand by Chinese consumers for quality brands have also attracted more attention of overseas toy and game producers.