Chinese Economics Thread

[xiabonan]

You would think that the CPC would make use of this piece of news (GDP surpassing the US in PPP terms) to boast their achievements and consolidate their legitimacy--but no, you hardly hear any news on this in China.

It's so dead silent that it's almost as if they censored it.

It's really funny to see how all Western media is making such a big fuss out of it and using titles such as "China becomes world's No. 1" while the Chinese government as well as her people don't actually give a damn.

 

[Lethe]

I haven't seen this story on the Australian or other western news outlets I follow. I expect it's because of the 'PPP' thing, whereas most of the stuff that foreigners actually care about (for any country) is better reflected by MERs. By the latter measure, China isn't set to overtake the US for another decade yet, and this accords more with general perceptions.

Or it could be that they are just slow, lol.

 

[shen]

You would think that the CPC would make use of this piece of news (GDP surpassing the US in PPP terms) to boast their achievements and consolidate their legitimacy--but no, you hardly hear any news on this in China.

It's so dead silent that it's almost as if they censored it.

It's really funny to see how all Western media is making such a big fuss out of it and using titles such as "China becomes world's No. 1" while the Chinese government as well as her people don't actually give a damn.

The challenges faced by CPC is so great, it doesn't have time to boast. Too many people of both the China Strong and China Threat camps seem to miss that point.

 

[broadsword]

The thing is ... those products are still in the market in a huge number ... means there are a lot of demands for those .. as simple as that

Actually, it is not as simple as that. Consumers know the tradeoffs of buying cheap stuffs. But when they realize the products are rip-offs, they will be leery of not just those Chinese goods, but almost anything made in China, with the exception of foreign brands and, to some extent, OEMs. The fear is already implanted in consumers and that is why you see "Made in China" jokes.

Ask yourself, do they need to make the heel of office shoes to be so thin that they wear off after even a month? And the price is comparable to branded lower category shoes. It will take a lot to convince the consumers they will be up to scratch the next time he shops for a new pair.

I feel that the government must be pro-active in tackling the quality problem and consumer groups must be a lot more vocal.
Consumers do not know the true quality based on the price tags. The black sheeps tarnish the reputation of others.

 

[A.Man]

Actually, it is not as simple as that. Consumers know the tradeoffs of buying cheap stuffs. But when they realize the products are rip-offs, they will be leery of not just those Chinese goods, but almost anything made in China, with the exception of foreign brands and, to some extent, OEMs. The fear is already implanted in consumers and that is why you see "Made in China" jokes.

Ask yourself, do they need to make the heel of office shoes to be so thin that they wear off after even a month? And the price is comparable to branded lower category shoes. It will take a lot to convince the consumers they will be up to scratch the next time he shops for a new pair.

I feel that the government must be pro-active in tackling the quality problem and consumer groups must be a lot more vocal.
Consumers do not know the true quality based on the price tags. The black sheeps tarnish the reputation of others.

US$2.2 trillion annual exports of China are awful a lot of "rip-offs" for the world to buy.

 

[AssassinsMace]

Remember, this information is not coming from China. This is a Western concoction that is nothing positive for China. Trying to make it look like China is richer than the US is not meant to honor China. When you've been taught your way of doing things is superior to everyone else, anyone who challenges it will be seen as a threat. It's an alarm bell... a call to act against the threat. I was reading an article about the US's $200 million contribution to fight Ebola. But the article was really about criticizing how China only pledged $30 million. That's coming from the notion that the US and China are equal in standing. Now that the propaganda is out that China is "richer" than the US, how do you think that $30 million looks compared to $200 million? I remember back in the 1990s when people started to question affirmative action, I was watching a TV news round table show where a Democrat's solution was to discriminate against Asians since there were already more represented than their demographic in the college system. In other words, since Asians are already rich in college students, it's all right to discriminate against them as a whole. When I was a kid, I was told Asians weren't victims of racism because they were rich. And that's always in the context of a response to an accusation of racism made against Asians. They're not arguing whether or not the act was racism. They're saying it's nothing wrong to be racist towards Asians because they have money. It's like a twisted version of equality. That mentality is still in play to this day.

 

[antiterror13]

Actually, it is not as simple as that. Consumers know the tradeoffs of buying cheap stuffs. But when they realize the products are rip-offs, they will be leery of not just those Chinese goods, but almost anything made in China, with the exception of foreign brands and, to some extent, OEMs. The fear is already implanted in consumers and that is why you see "Made in China" jokes.

Ask yourself, do they need to make the heel of office shoes to be so thin that they wear off after even a month? And the price is comparable to branded lower category shoes. It will take a lot to convince the consumers they will be up to scratch the next time he shops for a new pair.

I feel that the government must be pro-active in tackling the quality problem and consumer groups must be a lot more vocal.
Consumers do not know the true quality based on the price tags. The black sheeps tarnish the reputation of others.

I'd suggest ... next time you just stop buying Chinese products, just buy American and EU products ... thats your choice .. just buy expensive branded products, that may (again may) last longer

 

[broadsword]

I'd suggest ... next time you just stop buying Chinese products, just buy American and EU products ... thats your choice .. just buy expensive branded products, that may (again may) last longer

I'm a hardcore made in China fan, ironically. I'm waiting for Xiaomi Mi4 to come onto our market.

 

[antiterror13]

I'm a hardcore made in China fan, ironically. I'm waiting for Xiaomi Mi4 to come onto our market.

huhhhh .... very interesting!

 

[broadsword]

huhhhh .... very interesting!

My point is China can do better. Don't leave it to market forces. It will be too slow. I don't live in China, so I don't know about the administration there, but I feel the govt should be more proactive.