Thai business stories

Choosing cheap Chinese Products over Thai jobs

By needchange, Created on: 17/10/2010, Last updated on: 24/11/2015

» Everyone knows the story of what has been happening in the US in terms of the trade deficit with China. If you go to Walmart, almost every product sold there comes from China. Walmart is America's biggest retailer if I'm correct. The trend is the same at many other retailers around the country. So...

• prajna commented : Chinese producers and Thai importers easily push Chinese-made products in Thai consumers' hands because local customers are price sensitive. This is not unique to Thailand though. Chinese goods have global presence. I see this happens all over the world. In Africa, for example, Chinese salesmen and saleswomen hawk cheap Chinese-made drugs in marché (open-air market) stalls. It's even more fascinating to witness also that these Chinese merchants indeed speak their customers' languages. For those who are familiar with Wal-Mart, why do you think the stores all over the U.S. are doing so well with the low priced marketing campaign selling Made-in-China imports? China's economic supremacy is an understatement. Unfortunately, Chinese-made merchandize is a synonym of products that are known for being shoddy, unsafe, toxic, prone to recalls, dangerous, faulty, tainted and poorly designed. Some developed countries with well established regulatory government agencies can flex political and legal muscles to wrestle with their Chinese counterparts. One case in point is the recent opening of a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission office in the People's Republic of China. It's aimed at improving manufacturing practices in China to meet American product safety standards. Similarly, France prevents Chinese-made contraband from entering the country by setting up traffic stops along major border checkpoints. So I agree with all the previous posted comments. Adding my two-cents is "what else can you do?" I personally don't want to fight 1.3 billion Chinese.

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