Thirty-nine enterprises based in Ningbo with the highest market shares in their niche markets in China have achieved recession-defying growth despite the COVID-19 epidemic. 

Official data shows that the 39 enterprises saw a year-on-year increase of 8.9 percent in output in the first five months of this year, 19.1 faster than the average among enterprises above the designated size in the city.

These promising results are due to a combination of factors, such as their long-term devotion to a niche segment, strong innovation capabilities, and close international cooperation. 

One such example is Beifa Group, a stationery company based in Ningbo, which has been devoted to the development of ballpoint pens for over 20 years. 

The company has acquired over 10 patents related to pens and has managed to turn a tiny business into a huge one worth hundreds of millions of yuan, according to Qiu Zhiming, president of Beifa.

A survey by the Ningbo municipal bureau of economy and information technology shows that 308 enterprises with market shares topping niche markets in Ningbo have been producing their main products for an average of 18 years, and their sales account for more than 70 percent of their total business revenue.

Ningbo Solartron Technology Co Ltd dominates the national market for optical films due to its strong innovation capabilities. Jin Yadong, president of the company, said that four of every 10 LCD TVs produced in the country use their optical films.

In 2019, Solartron's revenue stood at 910 million yuan ($131.88 million), up 31.72 percent from the previous year and more than five times the number five years ago.

Solartron is not alone. Official statistics show that the 39 enterprises spent a total of 4.38 billion yuan on R&D last year, 2.05 percentage points higher than the city average.

In addition, some enterprises have managed to achieve multinational acquisitions in their niche markets.Ningbo Bode High-tech Co Ltd, a global leader in precision cutting wires, is one such example. 

The company was estalished after Powerway Group Co Ltd acquired Berkenhoff GmbH, a German producer of precision wires in 2015. In the first quarter of this year, Bode's foreign trade shipments grew about 25 percent year-on-year. 

Integrating global resources such as markets, capital, talent and technology has become a new way for these "manufacturing champions" to achieve key technological breakthroughs, according to a head official from the Ningbo municipal bureau of economy and information technology. 

To date, of the 308 enterprises who top their niche markets in Ningbo, 35 have set up R&D organs overseas.