LiAnne Yu — 25 June 2005
What Does China Want?
China is once again on the cover of Time. I’m happy to see the coverage, but I'm concerned about the media's obsession with the so-called U.S.-China “competition.” Articles focus on questions like “What does China want?” as though the country were a petulant child or indecipherable woman.
Why are the consumer longings of the Chinese always cast in a suspicious tone? For some reason, the media seems to need to portray Chinese consumerism as a political practice with the goal of toppling the U.S. That's not only inaccurate, it's inflamatory and completely undervalues the immense opportunity that China represents to the U.S.
China is in the midst of one of history's most dramatic consumer revolutions. Its people have emerged from decades of global isolation, restrictions on personal expression, and lack of consumer choice to power the world's fastest growing economy.
From affluent urban youths to mobile professionals to the rural elite, consumers are seeking products and services that reflect what it means to be modern in China.
We have the opportunity to do more than just localize products and brands for China. We have the chance to innovate for a market that is growing at an unprecedented rate and increasingly demanding that the things that they buy satisfy emotional, intellectual, and social needs. We can choose to fear China or benefit from it. At Cheskin, we've already made our decision.
Comments
Hello, very interesting comment:
quoting.. 'China is in the midst of one of history's most dramatic consumer revolutions. Its people have emerged from decades of global isolation, restrictions on personal expression, and lack of consumer choice to power the world's fastest growing economy.
From affluent urban youths to mobile professionals to the rural elite, consumers are seeking products and services that reflect what it means to be modern in China.
'
Do you agree that the consumers now are looking for products (like cars) to express themselves, which is their desire after decades of restrictions?
So they are not imitating the american culture at all?
I'm working on a design project, a family car for urban China in 2015. Currently i'm trying to understand their basic values and concerns toward the automobile. What is the social-cultural meaning of a car to the Chinese family? Is it status, convenience, both or something else? What kind of factors define those concerns then? How will those factors change in the coming decade till 2015? Some opinions on this?
My aim is to design a car that should fit in the social-cultural context of urban China in 2015. Tough job I guess..
Posted by waikit on November 10, 2005 05:07 AM | Permalink to Comment
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© 2008 Cheskin Added Value
I've enjoyed several of your posts. Thanks especially for these important comments, which I've passed on in my blog.
Posted by John Ray on June 27, 2005 03:42 AM | Permalink to Comment