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June 26, 2005

Chinese Consumer Aspirations: Suspicious or Peace-Enhancing?

LiAnne Yu of marketing and design research firm Cheskin comments on the Time magazine’s recent "China issue":

Articles focus on questions like "What does China want?" as though the country were a petulant child or indecipherable woman. Why are the consumer longings of the Chinese always cast in a suspicious tone? For some reason, the media seems to need to portray Chinese consumerism as a political practice with the goal of toppling the U.S. That's not only inaccurate, it's inflamatory and completely undervalues the immense opportunity that China represents to the U.S.

Let’s face it: "inflammatory" sells magazines better than "informing" does.

Moreover, Chinese consumers aren’t the only group whose aspirations are minimized or distrusted by some quarters in the United States; it’s true for Indians and Nicargaguans, too. Just wait until you read what’s written about the Vietnamese when the the debate over allowing Vietnam into the WTO heats up.

Working to increase the prosperity of the consumer class around the world is wonderfully beneficial for U.S. prosperity and peace. Protectionism and isolation is both impossible and potentially disastrous.

Ms. Yu goes to make an important point:

We have the opportunity to do more than just localize products and brands for China. We have the chance to innovate for a market that is growing at an unprecedented rate and increasingly demanding that the things that they buy satisfy emotional, intellectual, and social needs. We can choose to fear China or benefit from it. At Cheskin, we've already made our decision.

Unfortunately, some in the press, such as the crowd at Time magazine, have made their decision too.

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