'Made-in-China' Arrests World Attention

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 19, 2002

'Made-in-China' Arrests World Attention

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In recent years more and more people have chances to go abroad, but when they return home they are no longer loaded with goods purchased overseas as witnessed in the past, for now we can get everything we want in domestic markets. And often, they are jogged to pay attention to what they are going to buy in order not to bring back from foreign countries what was "Made-in-China".

The mark of "Made in China" is impressed on most commodities exported from China, which, even if found on a little toy, could make many Chinese feel proud in their hearts some twenty years ago. Now it has become something common to see numerous toys, electric appliances or even large machines labeled with the sign. Some competitive domestic enterprises, such as Hai'er, has extended its production base to overseas. The products, which maybe no longer carry the "Made in China" mark any more, are still of pure Chinese technology and brands. The "made in China" has gradually captured the attention of all the world.

The little mark reflects the whole history of China's manufacturing industry. Taking commodities exported to the US for example, at the beginning of reform and opening up in the 1980s, they were mostly cheap agricultural, sideline and textile products. Then, ten years later, China-made radios and quartz watches are seen everywhere on street vendors' stalls in San Francisco. But now beautiful electric household appliance and toys are found on supermarket shelves in New York. We are glad to see the changes in export structure, which tells the improvement of products in both quantity and quality. Now the manufacturing industry has served as an engine of China's economy by taking up over 40 percent of GDP, half of financial revenue, providing jobs for nearly half of urban workers and earning three fourth foreign exchange for the nation. China-made products are sold all over the world.

China's export increased so rapidly that foreign newspaper says that the nation would rise as a new "world plant". In fact we are still far away from that goal viewing from both technological level and production scale. Take the Southeast Asia alone for example, where 65-percent shares of the manufactured goods are in the hands of Japan, leaving only 15 percent for China. Besides, the nation's manufacturing industry, although transforming its processing bases to production ones, still suffers from fragility in innovation capability due to shortage of funds for research and development. It is obvious that we have neither many products of our own intellectual property rights nor many famous brands.

It is not easy for the industry, which set out from a weak foundation and very late, to achieve so much in a span of twenty years, and to keep a clear mind will help us to catch up with others. We are confident that "Made in China" will carry far under the WTO challenges as long as it picks up innovation, structure adjustment and updating, catches market information and focuses on quality products.

By PD Online Staff Member Li Heng

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