"Made in China" used to be an indication of cheap and low-end products. Very few Chinese enterprises had any kind of genuine international reputation. But today, with Reform and Opening-up, more and more Chinese enterprises are going abroad. Have foreign consumers now formed a better impression of Chinese business?

In order to understand what foreign consumers think of Chinese companies, China International Publishing Group (CIPG), together with Millward Brown, have carried out research on the image of Chinese companies overseas in the Asian-Pacific region.

Their research shows that most foreign consumers have bought and used products made by Chinese enterprises, and 89 percent of the interviewees say they will continue to buy Chinese products. They think that using Chinese products is a major way for them to understand business in China.

Compared with the scores of companies from other developed countries, Chinese enterprises are still a little low. Of the five largest economies, companies from China score 2.93 (out of 5), lower than Germany (3.83), Japan (3.64), America (3.63), and France (3.28). Interviewees in Malaysia, Mexico and Russia have a better impression of Chinese enterprises; scores from these interviewees are all above 3, while American and South Korean interviewees tend to give much lower scores - only 2.63 and 2.39.

Foreigners do recognize the contribution that Chinese enterprises make to their own local economic development, but at the same time, they also think the growing strength of China has brought both opportunities and challenges for the local economy. Overall, 54 percent interviewees think Chinese enterprises have made a positive contribution to local economic development, and 20 percent of them think highly of that contribution. Statistically, interviewees from Malaysia have the most positive attictude to Chinese companies — almost 75 percent consider that they have made a very positive contribution to the local economy. For American and South Korean interviewees, this figure is only around 40 percent.

In terms of the opportunities and challenges brought by Chinese enterprises, about 58 percent of the interviewees think both factors are fairly equal. Foreign consumers think that the positive effects to their economic development come mostly in the form of financial investment (53 percent) and job opportunities (49 percent), followed by advanced technologies and tax revenue.

54 percent of the interviewees also worry about the threats posed by Chinese enterprises to their local companies. 3 percent also think that Chinese enterprises might plunder local resources, destroy the balance of industrial chain, and pollute the local environment.

The research shows that the image of Chinese products is key to improving the image of Chinese enterprises. For foreign consumers, buying or using Chinese products is the most common way to get to know Chinese enterprises. During the research, people who have used Chinese products have a better understanding and impression of the Chinese economy, Chinese enterprises, and Chinese products. They also tend to be more proactive in seeking out information about Chinese enterprises and giving feedback on Chinese products and services.

How to improve the image of Chinese enterprises overseas? The most common suggestions from the interviewees are integrating into local society, strengthening social responsibilities, and enhancing publicity. From the research, five major problems faced by Chinese enterprises have been identified: lack of understanding of the local cultures, histories, and consumers (33 percent), lack of initiative in integrating into local social culture (31 percent), reluctance to take on local people as employees (30 percent), little participation in community welfare activities (30 percent), and low popularity and few local publicity campaigns (28 percent).

The research covered 5 typical countries that have frequent trade contacts with China and have distinct patterns of economic development: the US, South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, and Mexico. The sample was 2,544 people from globally interactive data companies. The research was built online and based on strict international online survey standards. To ensure the representativeness of each country, interviewees were all local citizens aged from 18-55. 

This article is edited and translated from 《89%海外受访者愿意继续购买中国产品》，source: China Youth Online, author: Chen Lu