Exporters stuck in neutral as costs rise, demand stagnates

Sanyo's Yang also criticized "uncontrolled and fast-rising fees from shipping companies targeting Chinese exporters".

And rising labor costs since the 2008 global financial crisis have become major burdens for Chinese exporters.

Pan Tongchun, president of Anhui Huaanda (Group) Co Ltd, said: "Business has been very hard since the second half of 2013." The company exports wicker products to the US. "Wages for my plant's more than 10,000 workers have risen more than 20 percent annually over the past five years."

Pan also complained about financing costs, saying that banks remain reluctant to lend to private businesses.

China's exports expand 9.4% in August

A look at China's largest inland export-import hub

Ma Liying, tax and treasury director at LCFC (Hefei) Electronics Technology Co Ltd, said that rising labor costs and a shortage of skilled workers are causing headaches for exporters all over China.

"Labor costs in the coastal region have risen very fast in recent years, and that's why we moved to Hefei in 2011. But labor supplies are still tight," Ma said. The young generation of workers, he said, has a very different attitude toward work than their parents.

"They care more about their own interests and tend to abandon boring and repetitive work on production lines, which increases labor shortages.

"Last year we began using robots on production lines for packaging and fastening nuts and bolts. But it will take about three years for the robots to assume all work now done by humans," Ma said.

Ling Zhugui, deputy general accountant of tire producer Giti (Anhui) Co Ltd, said that rising costs also come from stricter environmental standards and heightened expectations for corporate social responsibility.

Trade friction in foreign markets, combined with weak demand in the US and EU, also add to the burdens of the company, Ling said.

Giti's exports in the January-July period remained flat compared with the same period last year. Ling said that an export increase of 2 or 3 percent this year will be "very satisfactory".

Zhang Ji, director-general of the department of foreign trade at the Ministry of Commerce, said China's foreign trade still has comprehensive advantages, including sound infrastructure and industrial facilities, skilled labor and a favorable business environment.

"The era of rapid trade growth seen in the past three decades may have gone. But even a long time from now, it's possible for China's foreign trade to record relatively high growth," Zhang said recently.

External markets will not fundamentally improve for the rest of this year, but the country's foreign trade will maintain steady growth for the whole year, he added.