In March 2024, Interzum Guangzhou, Asia’s most influential trade fair for furniture production, woodworking machinery, and the interior decoration industry, was held in Guangzhou, China. The exhibition attracted top furniture manufacturers, designers, and buyers from around the world.
During the event, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) held a high-level media symposium. Ms. Ma Jiaojiao, a Chinese wooden furniture expert and General Manager of Dongyang Yuqiantang Palace Rosewood Furniture Co., Ltd. (“Yuqiantang”), was invited as a special guest to discuss the global influence of Chinese wooden furniture and its prospects for sustainable development.
Yuqiantang is one of China’s top ten brands in mahogany furniture, specializing in high-end fine furniture made from red sandalwood and Siamese rosewood. Yuqiantang’s products are popular not only in the Chinese market but are also exported to countries including the United States, Thailand, Canada, and Australia.
Ms. Ma Jiaojiao is an established expert in China’s mahogany furniture industry, particularly in Siamese rosewood furniture. She has outstanding achievements and profound knowledge in the design and production of wooden furniture, with extensive experience in integrating traditional craftsmanship with modernity.
China is the world’s largest furniture exporter. According to the Three Cobblers market research report, China’s wooden furniture exports reached about 95 billion yuan in 2023 with the main export regions being North America and Europe. The United States is the largest export market for Chinese wooden furniture, followed by Japan, Indonesia, South Africa, India, and Russia.
The global economic turmoil in the recent years has led to a decline in consumer demand for high-end wooden furniture. Given this, how can the Chinese furniture industry, which is highly dependent on the international market, achieve sustainable development?
Ms. Ma Jiaojiao explained that the reason Chinese wooden furniture has sold well overseas in recent years is due to the industry’s continuous pursuit of sustainable development, as well as its commitment to innovation, environmentally friendly production, and quality control.
While inheriting traditional craftsmanship and culture, China’s wooden furniture industry continuously upgrades its product design and manufacturing technology to improve the consumer purchasing experience.
Taking Yuqiantang as an example: Comprising veteran craftsmen and excellent designers, Ms. Ma Jiaojiao’s team produces comfortable and fashionable fine wooden furniture that integrates tradition and modernity. The company retains the traditional craftsmanship and styles rich with cultural connotations but also simplifies some of the complex patterns typical of old-fashioned Ming and Qing style. This achieves a concise design with smooth lines compatible with the modern aesthetic of simplicity. The team has obtained more than 100 invention patents, utility model patents, and design patents so far.
Ms. Ma Jiaojiao’s original work, the “Wu Yue Leisure Chair”, the first prize winner of the national award “China’s Chair”, is a shining example of the company’s signature products. The chair is made with traditional mortise and tenon joints and adopts the rounded backrest familiar in Ming-style furniture. The whole structure is simplified with elegant colors and leather and fabric decorations, breaking through outdated stereotypes of traditional hardwood furniture.
The piece is simple, elegant, and complements a variety of interior decoration styles, while also offering consumers great comfort.
In recent years, Chinese furniture companies have paid special attention to quality control. In 2024, under the leadership of Ms. Ma Jiaojiao, Yuqiantang, together with the Industrial Development Planning Institute of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and other organizations, jointly completed the “Technical Requirements for Premium Siamese Rosewood Furniture Products” standard. Aiming to allow consumers to purchase mahogany furniture without worry, Yuqiantang became the first company in China to apply an intelligent anti-counterfeiting electronic “ID card” system for mahogany furniture, implemented by a third party. Each product has a globally unique ID. Consumers can scan the ID QR code to check quality information and test reports issued by the quality supervision department.
With the improvement of living standards in China and abroad, as well as the evolution of consumer awareness, customers now pay more attention to eco-friendly furniture. Ms. Ma Jiaojiao stated, “In the fiercely competitive global market, we must provide products of excellent quality and shoulder the responsibility of environmental protection. Trees are valuable materials for making furniture, as well as habitats for animals. As designers and manufacturers, we have the obligation to use the forest resources given by nature in the most environmentally friendly way. For example, we should adopt a century-old method: selective logging, to maintain a virtuous cycle of the ecological environment.”
In conclusion, she added, “We must work hard to lead the entire industry to realize a better and sustainable future for all.”