Riding the esports wave, Dongguan is pulling out all the stops for another crown — the world’s capital of esports products. Atlas Shao reports from Dongguan.

Dongguan — southern China’s long-established industrial and exports zone that fought hard to call itself the “world’s factory” — isn’t willing to give up its plaudits easily.

The city, located in the Pearl River Delta, in Guangdong province, with a gross domestic product that surpassed 879 billion yuan ($120 billion) in the first three quarters of last year, remains a magnet for the nation’s key manufacturers, especially makers of gaming peripherals and computer accessories like mechanical keyboards, mice and headsets.

“Dongguan’s expertise in producing hardware peripherals is undoubtedly the world’s best,” says Qian Jinhua, general manager of Hexgears — a prominent Dongguan-based hardware products company specializing in manufacturing keyboards.

READ MORE: Dongguan's 'world factory' status evolving into high-tech, innovative future

The city’s pull factors are here to stay, he tells China Daily, boasting of an entrenched production industry, mature supply chains and advanced logistics.

Dongguan’s location as an export region is also acclaimed for its proximity to a nexus of ports around technological hub Shenzhen, Qian says, making it the optimal choice of enterprises, complemented by lower land rental costs, compared with Shenzhen.

In the first three quarters of last year, Dongguan exported gaming consoles and related components worth more than 2.65 billion yuan — a 31-percent growth over the same period in 2023.

According to Qian, who hails from Zhejiang province, many other provinces, such as Hunan, Sichuan and Jiangxi, are trying to lure businesses away from Dongguan, but to no avail.

Qian pointed out that Dongguan’s comprehensive supply chain, which allows manufacturers to find anything they need in a timely and fast manner, is another plus. For example, plastic — a vital raw material for keyboards — can be produced in Dongguan’s Zhangmutou town. For in-house mold making, the city offers a ready chain of knowhow such as surface mount technology and systems installation services, as well as accommodation for workers.

Dongguan also has a highly developed logistics network. In the neighboring district of Zengcheng in Guangdong’s provincial capital, Guangzhou, there is a logistics hub supporting major e-commerce platforms like Tmall and Jingdong. Dongguan’s geographical proximity to Shenzhen’s Yantian and Futian districts facilitates exports, says Qian.

Eastern Times Technology — one of the biggest producers of esports peripherals — moved to Dongguan’s Fenggang town from Shenzhen in 2008 and performed strongly in overseas markets, taking the top spot in some Latin American countries.

Lu Haitian, the company’s products manager, says their products are well received in the United States, Brazil and Argentina, with annual sales there involving tens of millions of sets of electronic gadgets.

Under the well-established supply chain of Dongguan, the company can roll out over 15 new products monthly.

Factories producing various brands of hardware products are densely clustered in towns on the city’s fringes, including Shijie, Qiaotou, Shipai, Tangxia and Qingxi. One of the top manufacturers is Dongguan Oshid Precision Mould Co which claims to have an annual production capacity of 36 million sets of keycaps. Another is Dongguan Kaihua Electronics Co which produces keyboard switches, with a history spanning more than three decades and a portfolio of over 140 patents.

With giant cellphone makers like Huawei, Vivo and Oppo setting up in Dongguan in recent years, development of the hardware sector can only improve. Lu believes technology is the biggest driver of productivity, and the most vital part is research and development as good design saves a lot of effort in the production process.

Amid a revival of its fortunes, Dongguan is striving to establish itself as the world’s esports peripheral capital with a projected annual output value of more than 30 billion yuan. To attain that goal, the city desperately needs high-skilled professionals specializing in operations, development and research.

Currently, professionals in software development are mainly concentrated in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen — a reality that seems quite immutable for the time being, Qian admits, adding that the Dongguan municipal government is steadfast in its commitment to change.

With the completion of the intercity light rail linking Dongguan with Shenzhen, a growing number of professionals from Shenzhen might contemplate moving to Dongguan, Qian expects.

ALSO READ: Chang'an hits 100 billion mark in GDP

Introducing various esports events and competitions is another major focal point for the “world factory” to realize its goal of being the global capital of esports products. The ambition can be epitomized in its hosting the Dongguan Esports Carnival in November at the city’s largest shopping mall — Dongguan Wanjiang South China Mall. The carnival included an esports competition and a livestream viewing of the 2024 League of Legends World Championship, with the mall as the central viewing location in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The competition invited 16 esports teams of youngsters from Dongguan, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to play the popular esport League of Legends. It was estimated that about 20,000 people viewed the game at the central viewing location although it was held in the wee hours.

Following the event, the Dongguan esports industry alliance was set up, bringing together members of various segments of the esports industrial chain, such as esports hardware manufacturers, digital service companies, event organizers, and consumer venue operators.

Qian, who is a member of the alliance, says many large-scale esports events have been hosted in cities like Shanghai and Chengdu. “The core production of the esports business is in Dongguan, creating an appealing environment for the growth of esports. Why not have them here?” he says.

Lu believes that further exhibitions will attract more people to Dongguan and fuel the development of not only esports, but also other industries.

Zheng Junyan, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Dongguan Committee, is a strong advocate of developing the hardware and esports sectors. He says the development path for Dongguan’s esports industry should be toward high-end and platform expansion.

Zheng — one of the initiators of the Dongguan Esports Carnival — believes that hardware producers should develop more high-end products, such as artificial intelligence hardware, to improve their prospects of being adopted for world-class esports competitions.

Cultivating esports professionals, boosting cooperation among institutions and enterprises, and building esports training bases are paramount, he says.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.coming