"Why can't Russia choose only domestic products like the Chinese?" was published on the free media website of Russia on May 27. 'Russian manufacturers need to learn from the Chinese, who are taking over the global market in almost everything from electronics to clothing,' the article said. The full text is edited as follows:
Young Chinese consumers have shown a surge in interest in domestic brands and products in recent years. Survey data from Internet giants Baidu and People's Daily Online show this.
Chinese consumers' appetite for home-made goods has grown fivefold in the past decade. The improvement of brand quality and image has stimulated the development of Chinese goods. And the fastest growing industries are clothing, cars and cosmetics. The popularity of Chinese brands in these categories is three times that of their foreign counterparts.
Chinese phones are at the top of the list for sales growth. Marketers estimate that consumer awareness of high-end phones was 52 per cent in 2016, up from just half of Chinese consumers five years ago to 82 per cent this year. Meanwhile, 5G has become a buzzword among Chinese consumers.
Marketing reports show that in addition to domestic products, the popularity of Chinese films, computer games, TV dramas and animations is also rising. In fact, you don't need to look at the survey to find out. Just look at the box office of Chinese films. Domestic films accounted for six of the top 10 highest-grossing films in 2021. Chinese films will also soon dominate overseas markets. For example, "Eight Hundred," a Chinese film about the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, was seen by nearly 12,000 people in Russia.
It's not common yet, but it could soon become a trend. The same is true for mobile phones and computers in China. In the first quarter of 2021, according to an estimate by Canalis Consulting, the market leader was China's Xiaomi, which accounted for 32% of smartphone sales, significantly surpassing the former longtime leader Samsung, which had a 27% share.
In addition, there are two Chinese brands -- Honor and Realme -- in the top five of smartphones.
Chinese goods are also rising to prominence in industries that until recently were virtually unknown in China. China's $75 billion beauty care market, for example, is equivalent to the annual gross domestic product of a country like Oman or Guatemala.
The world's top brands are planning to open flagship stores in China's largest cities, Shanghai and Beijing. But Chinese companies are not satisfied with that. In the first stage, they will focus on localizing beauty products, and then on creating their own brands. In the long run, Chinese brands are poised to knock Europe and the United States off their pedestal in global markets.
Chinese textile and garment companies are also well positioned to expand globally. This is partly because Chinese consumers are increasingly turning to domestic brands. On the other hand, China has a long tradition that makes it possible to achieve efficient production.
In recent years, a growing number of biotech scientists have returned to China from the United States, and they will become a new engine for breakthroughs in the textile industry, according to an analyst from American fashion magazine Fashion Bimonthly.
Significantly, the Chinese government has pledged to go carbon neutral by 2060. As a result, producers will use cleaner and more scientific technologies.
In the long run, this will help reduce production costs. In other words, China will further consolidate its position as the "garment factory of the world". But it will no longer be a cheap mass market. It will be a high-tech clothing market.