This year marks the tenth anniversary of China's entrance into the World Trade Organization (WTO). China has made remarkable progress over the past ten years, becoming the world's largest exporter and the second largest importer.
However, as hard economic power grows, Chinese companies need to pay more attention to the strengthening of their soft power, including core technology and the product quality, in an effort to build brand loyalty and a positive brand image.
On October 28, CRI reporters visited Changhong Electric Co, the biggest electronics manufacturer in southwest China's Sichuan Province,
In some countries, "Made in China" has become synonymous with low quality and low cost. Wu Jiang, deputy general manager of Changhong Electric Co, was asked about the challenges that Chinese electronics companies were facing in terms of going global:
"First of all, Chinese brands face competitors from all over the globe, including South Korean and Japanese brands, such as Samsung and LG. The influence and reputation of Chinese products can not be earned in a short period of time. Secondly, the lower product costs used to be one of the advantages in China. However, that same advantage is now causing a loss, " said Wu.
Earlier this year, a number of coastal cities suffered from a labor shortage as Chinese labor costs have increased rapidly in recent years. Challenges exist, but chances still remain.
"During a dozen years of overseas expansion, Changhong has made an impact in Indonesia, east Europe and north Africa. As seen from the statistics of production and marketing, our advantage lies in high-quality products," the deputy general manager said. He believes that Changhong does enjoy certain advantages when competing with other overseas companies, adding that made-in-China products will still have a low price tag in the near future but will be defined by their high quality.
Changhong also concentrates on making core devices for electrical appliances, such as compressors for air conditioning units. The compressor in air conditioning units is often referred to as the heart of the machine. Wu estimates that the market share of Changhong in Europe, for compressor sales, could reach 20 percent.
Changhong Electric Co was founded in 1958. The company is a consumer electronics company based in Mianyang, Sichuan Province and is the second largest manufacturer of televisions in China. In the next few years, Changhong will boost its development of "smart products". In addition to televisions, more smart terminals, like smart phones and tablet computers will hit the market.
