Congress Hall - Chongqing
China's
Growing Appetite for Imports
By
FBWorld Team
The
global economy
has reached an inflection point, in which the structure that existed
over the past decade is now shifting. For the last ten years,
the engine of global economic growth was the U.S. consumer. China
understood this and has grown to be an economic powerhouse, largely
by supplying exports to the U.S. consumer market. That era is
coming to an end.
Commercial Truck Depot
Going
forward, U. S. consumer spending will shrink, and Chinese export
activity will likely lessen as the imbalance in the global theater
corrects itself. Many authorities in the Economic and Financial
fields are seeing this as a global economic crisis. That makes
this an odd time to offer an optimistic prediction.
Agricultural - hydroponic view
We
are on the verge of a consumer-spending boom that will take place
in China, which is likely to last for years. The industries that
stand to benefit the most are ones that offer luxury goods and
gourmet food products. If you look closely, this principle will
work in favor of everyone in the buying and selling cycle.
Agricultural - view from moving car
What
possesses me to think this way? In the past decade the Chinese
economy has grown at an extremely rapid pace resulting in a huge
increase in the middle class. This has triggered a series of events
that will domino into a positive direction. Now China is in a
position similar to Japan and Korea a couple of decades ago.
Shanghai River view
China
is catching up and in many ways surpassing many of the world's
richest countries by investing in new infrastructure, adopting
modern technologies, and consequently rapidly increasing the productivity
of its workers. By doing so, they are creating a situation where
their middle class will not only grow in wealth, but they will
also become more sophisticated. The natural consequence will be
for them to demand higher quality goods at competitive prices.
Shanghai Trade Office to promote trade with US
For
those of you in California who offer quality food or luxury products
and would like to get into China, the Cal Asian Chamber of Commerce
is a great place to start. They are an organization that successfully
builds inroads and carefully puts together networking sessions
that will put you in front of your potential customer.
Mayor speaks to California visitors
I
have been working with them for several months now, and the momentum
we are generating speaks volumes about the gold rush style opportunity
that is before us today. In May, I went on a Cal Asian Chamber
organized trade mission to China. The group was primarily comprised
of politicians, farmers, real estate agents, and a member of the
wine industry. Our purpose was to visit trade offices, government
agencies, trade shows, and create relationships for the purpose
of increasing exports of California products.
Margaret
Wong of McWong International
and Tim Yamaguchi of Pride Industries
The
area we covered was vast. It consisted of Shanghai, Nanjing, Kunshan,
Chongqing, Suzhou and Beijing. Everywhere we went we were greeted
with welcoming curiosity. In Chongqing we were invited to dine
with leading city officials and treated to an amazing hot pot
dinner and given red carpet hospitality. The experience left me
with an impression that they knew what we were there to offer
and were interested.
Chinese dinner for California guests at Mayor of Chongqing's home
comprised of each guest receiving a bowl of boiling water, half
seasoned, half plain, with a plate of raw seafood and meats to
cook at their own seat.
It was delicious!! Beautifully prepared.
It's
important to realize that with every dose of optimism should accompany
an equal dose of reality. Even though China is growing, they are
still a relatively poor country, and the majority of them do not
drive automobiles. Their methods of food distribution are evolving
from a street vendor style to a hypermarket style.
Mayor Huang Qifan of Chongqing
This
means if you want to appeal to the Chinese market you need to
create products that are light and easy to carry. The point is
to appeal to a population that transports themselves by foot,
public transportation methods and by bicycle. It will also be
important to know how to relate to customers who are in the process
of building a distribution system that can support Safeway style
grocery stores.
Mayor of Chongqing speaking
It's
also import to realize that China is very large, and has many
cities and provinces that are separated by a great distance and
difficult terrain. So it's important that if you wish to get into
China, target individual areas and appeal to those local markets.
This new era of the global economy has a silver lining, - a thick
and profitable one, but only for those people in the United States
willing to adapt and make the necessary investments to get their
products into China via methods that meets their needs as consumers.
By
Arthur Walsh