Lionel Messi of Argentina reacts during the Group C match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on 22 November 2022

After four years of anticipation, the FIFA World Cup 2022 kicked off in Qatar on 20 November 2022. Though China National Football Team failed to qualify for the carnival, football fans could find a footprint of China all over the place, ranging from stadiums built with Chinese technology to made-in-China products such as new energy vehicles, cute plush mascots of La’eeb, coffee mugs, and replicas of the World Cup trophy and other souvenirs.  

“The World Cup is a perfect stage for Chinese-made products,” said Song Xiangqing, an economist and vice president of the Commerce Economy Association of China. The prevalence and popularity of these products clearly demonstrate the position of Chinese manufacturing in the global high-end product market.   

Green infrastructure 

With its golden design and creative craftsmanship, which was inspired by the hand-crafted date palm bowls found all across the Arab and Islamic world, Lusail Stadium, the main venue of 2022 games, is like a jewel gleaming in Qatar’s FIFA World Cup crown.  

Located on the outskirts of Doha, the 80,000-seat stadium for the World Cup that is scheduled to host the final match and closing ceremony was jointly constructed by Qatar and China Railway Construction Corp. (CRCC), one of the biggest construction companies in China.  

According to Li Bai, the leading CRCC engineer, it was the first time that a Chinese company carried out the design and construction work for a World Cup stadium.  

Chinese entities including CRCC, the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) and Beijing Construction Engineering Group provided solutions, products and technologies that cover the whole industrial chain from the venue’s design to construction.  

The venue has set six world records including being the largest single building with a double cable-net roof, according to Huang Taorui, deputy general manager for Lusail Stadium project, CRCC International. One of Lusail Stadium’s most notable sustainability features is its roof, which is made from PTFE - a material that protects the stadium from hot wind, keeps out dust and allows in enough light for the grass on the pitch to grow, while providing shade to reduce the pressure on the stadium’s cooling systems. 

Zhu Zhongyi, BIAD’s chief structural engineer who oversaw the stadium’s structure design, said that the main structure primarily consists of curved V-shape trusses. This design solution reduced the amount of steel needed by 12,000 tonnes. 
Besides, the stadium uses 40 percent less water than conventional sites thanks to measures such as the systems that use collected rainwater, and an improved water-saving sprinkler irrigation system, according to the construction team from CRCC.  

In addition, Chinese manufacturing played a key role in driving Qatar’s power generation from renewable sources.  

Located in the desert area about 80 km west of capital Doha, the Al Kharsaah 800-mw solar power plant, with a total investment of $417 million, is one of the biggest in the Middle East. 

Built by PowerChina Guizhou Engineering Co., the plant is non-fossil-fuel power plant, helping the country to realise new energy development and move towards its commitment of hosting a “green World Cup.” 

According to Wei Yujin, vice manager of the project, the plant has 2 million solar panels, with all the equipment sourced from China.  

Besides, Chinese-made buses provided transportation for fans during the World Cup. Qatar imported about 1,500 buses from China, of which 888 are electric. 

Chinese manufacturing is speeding up intelligent and green development, and has made positive contributions to the global industrial chain and the stability of the supply chain, said Chen Jia, an independent analyst of international strategy. 

Workers pack plush toys of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 mascot La’eeb at a factory in Dongguan, south China’s Guangdong Province, on 26 November 2022(CNS PHOTO)

Soaring orders 

Next to the shelves of a large chartered retail store for the World Cup in Doha, football fans, tourists and local people are carefully choosing a variety of goods: horns, flags, clothes, shoes, badges, stationery... Many of these goods are “made-in-China” products, or to be more specific, “made-in-Yiwu” products. 

In fact, for Yiwu, the world’s largest commodity centre in east China’s Zhejiang Province, the World Cup started half a year earlier.  

As early as July 2022, Wu Xiaoming, head of the Yiwu Okay Sports Products Co. Ltd., received the order to produce commemorative balls for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.  

He said his company got an order to produce 100,000 commemorative balls, mascots, and national flags of the 32 countries that entered the competition. 

“Though it was a heavy workload, we managed to deliver them to the customers over the next 50 days despite the pandemic,” Wu said. 

In order to allow World Cup-related products to be shipped to fans around the world faster, Yiwu also opened a “World Cup Special Line” in mid-September 2022. Through this special shipping line, it only took 20 to 25 days for the shipments to reach Hamad Port in Qatar directly from Ningbo and Shanghai ports in China. 

According to estimates by Yiwu Sports Goods Association, products made in Yiwu accounted for almost 70 percent of the World Cup souvenirs in Qatar. The city exported 3.82 billion yuan ($536.8 million) worth of sporting goods and 9.66 billion yuan ($1.36 billion) worth of toys in the first eight months of 2022. 

Mascot La’eeb may be popular in the Middle East, but it was “born” in the Chinese industrial town of Dongguan. Guangdong Cheche Cultural Development Co., a company based in Dongguan in south China’s Guangdong Province, has obtained authorisation to manufacture and globally distribute the official mascot. The goods include plush toys and hats, as well as 3D crystal key chains, torches and resin lamps. 

“From raw materials to skilled workers and packaging, we were able to deliver a significant amount in just 25 days. We used recyclable materials, in line with the World Cup’s low-carbon goals. We also used 3D printing and automated embroidery machines to raise productivity,” Chen Leigang, founder and CEO Guangdong Cheche Cultural Development Co., told Chinese broadcast media CGTN. 

Moreover, in the security check centres of competition venues, 2,500 air conditioners were from Chinese electrical appliance manufacturing giant Midea Group. Machinery giant SANY Group also rode on the construction wave brought by the football bonanza with nearly 100 units of heavy equipment. 

Xiao Shuhong, a professor of sports economics at Beijing Sport University, said China’s contribution to the World Cup reflects the growing significance of the Chinese manufacturing to the global economy. Held every four years, the tournament will considerably boost growth of the global sports economy by creating business opportunities for export-oriented companies in China and other parts of the world, Xiao added. 

Boosted by their complementary trade structure and the World Cup, the total trade value between China and Qatar rose by 64.7 percent year on year to $21.66 billion between January and October 2022, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.