China Electronics Industry: Importer's Overview

China's electronics industry is geographically clustered: PCB and assembly concentrate in Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta, components and trading at Huaqiangbei, lighting in Zhongshan and Foshan, and commodity accessories in Yiwu. For importers, the practical takeaway is that 'China' is not one supply chain but several regional ecosystems, each with its own cost structure and minimums. A custom IoT product touches multiple of these — cells from one province, PCB from another, injection-molded enclosure from a third — which is why lead times of 30–60 days are normal even when each step is fast.

Understanding the industry means knowing where each part of your product is actually made, so you can audit the real source rather than the assembler's storefront. The pitfall is assuming the factory you order from makes everything; most coordinate a network of sub-suppliers, and that's where quality and counterfeit-component risk hides.