

3 In 10 Americans Will Not Knowingly Buy Chinese-Owned Brands - dwshorowitz
https://www.hdtradeservices.com/blog/Three+In+10+Americans+Will+Not+Knowingly+Buy+Chinese+Brands

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sc00ter
3 In 10 Americans _claim_ they Will Not Knowingly Buy Chinese-Owned Brands

I suspect the reality is wildly different to the survey result - after all,
"made in China" is hardly a secret.

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martingordon
There's a difference between a Chinese-owned brand and a Chinese-made product.

I think most Americans are fine buying Chinese-made goods but Chinese brands
are seen as being of inferior quality.

~~~
btian
As if Chinese made goods are not perceived as inferior. Claims are just claims
after all.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
In China, Chinese brands are considered inferior to western ones, even if
everything is made here. They compete on price alone mostly.

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rdl
I sort of avoid food from China. Oddly, chemicals from China are ok, but I
rationalize because they're in milligram quantities, so impurities are also
relatively small, and they get GC/MS'd.

I also avoid software/security products from China and Chinese-controlled
entities. To some extent, I'd like to include hardware, but that's essentially
impossible. I avoid Huawei and ZTE at least, but I still buy Apple, Lenovo,
etc.

I would probably not trust security software written by a Chinese citizen in
the US who had extensive ongoing personal/family connections to China. I would
use a game, and probably general purpose stuff. It makes me sad that this
position is justified by the threat environment. I tend to feel the same way
about most of Eastern Europe/Russia, too, although perhaps less acutely.

The horrible thing about all of this is that Chinese and fUSSR developers are
some of the smartest/best in the world.

~~~
jisaacstone

        It makes me sad that this position is justified by the threat environment.
    

No it is not. It is a reactionary position. Unless you have some evidence to
back up your behaviours, you are just being paranoid.

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fotbr
There are some things I will not buy if they're made in some countries, of
which China is just one. There are other things that I don't care where in the
world they were produced.

There's a definite relationship between the length of time I expect to own or
use a product, the country's reputation for products of that type, and which
of the two categories it falls in.

~~~
incision
_> There's a definite relationship between the length of time I expect to own
or use a product, the country's reputation for products of that type, and
which of the two categories it falls in._

Same.

How I intend to use (entertainment vs work) the product and the implications
of its failure (annoyance vs injury) factor as well.

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Elepsis
"Knowingly" seems to be the key word here: if you surveyed most Americans (or
consumers elsewhere, for that matter) on how many of them know the country of
origin for most brands, the results would be very hit or miss. I don't think
too many people realize or remember that Samsung is Korean, nor that Nokia is
Finnish. And to a concrete example of a Chinese company, I think hardly anyone
knows Lenovo's origins.

The article even points out as much: in many cases, the Chinese brands go out
of their way to do nothing that would reveal themselves to be Chinese brands.
And by the time the brand is successful in a country, I'd suspect that brand's
origin will matter very little.

~~~
obviouslygreen
Yes, but is this really relevant? You can't actively do or not do something at
all unless you do so "knowingly." Of course it's an important part of the
question, but even there it's redundant, and belaboring it seems pointless.

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lcentdx
Yeah, but... actually export products already have much better quality control
than domestic-oriented products we ordinary chinese consume everyday, except
our great leaders who have special farms around the countries producing
organic "特供品"s for them) , We envy you Americans!

At the outskirt of my city there's a special farming zone producing high
quality vegetables for Japan, I always wonder what dose that taste like, must
be very delicious.

There're many merchants/stores here selling defective items (B品/外單） western
companies rejected. It's very popular among young people, especially clothes.

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shirro
Ownership doesn't bother me as much as quality control. Cheap stuff often
compromises quality regardless of source. As much as possible I try not to buy
food sourced from outside Australia or New Zealand as I don't trust the
regulatory environments elsewhere and don't want to be eating European mystery
meat or Chinese melamine. I don't really care about source so much if it is a
phone or tv.

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kqr2
A journalist tried to go for a year without buying anything from China. It was
challenging.

 _A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the
Global Economy_

[http://www.amazon.com/Year-Without-Made-China-
Adventure/dp/0...](http://www.amazon.com/Year-Without-Made-China-
Adventure/dp/0470379200/)

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drucken
Given the US's annual trade deficit with China is more than a quarter of a
trillion dollars and growing every year by some $20 billion (i.e. an extra
month's worth of trade balance per annum), surveys of this kind are not worth
the pixels they are printed on.

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dhughes
One day at home we played a game where we all reached for some random thing
within arms reach and I think it was 8 out of 10 had 'Made in China' on them
somewhere.

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trackofalljades
I guess it's a good thing for them that's almost entirely impossible then...so
I guess they'll just have to enjoy ignorance.

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aristus
This is why Chinese companies buy older American brands. GE and RCA come to
mind.

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yoster
I don't care what country owns the brand as long as it is dependable and well
made. Chinese products have a big stigma of being cheaply made. There are also
a lot of reports of products from China containing unhealthy levels of lead.
It would be great if most of the products being sold are made in your home
country, but until prices are matched, it would be a while until that happens.

~~~
icebraining
_It would be great if most of the products being sold are made in your home
country_

Why?

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rayiner
Because I'd rather support the economy of Wisconsin than the economy of
Chengdu. I like people in Wisconsin, can't really relate to people in Chengdu,
and then there is the whole militarily adverse repressive communist regime
thing.

Beyond that, I have no desire to contribute to the externalization of
pollution, health and safety risks, etc, that come from exporting production
overseas.

I think globalization is utterly ridiculous when countries are allowed to
engage in a "race to the bottom" as China has by destroying its environment
and poisoning its people to be more competitive against Western nations that
aren't willing to do those things.

I'm happy to pay a little more:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/29/business/29shoe.html?ei=50...](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/29/business/29shoe.html?ei=5007&en=dbec2f2df332295f&ex=1401163200&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=all&position=).

~~~
cerales
> I like people in Wisconsin, can't really relate to people in Chengdu,

?? They're just people.

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rayiner
Sure, but let's make no mistake: the people in Chengdu don't buy into this
silly idea that they should care as much about the people in Wisconsin as they
do about their neighbors just because "everyone is just people."

~~~
cerales
And yet I've met people from Xinjiang and Sichuan who share my feelings about
other people and view things through the lens of international solidarity on a
personal, human level. What's your point? That the risk of 'white guilt' is a
reason not to discard indefensible perspectives like xenophobia and othering?

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driverdan
"This survey was commissioned by HDTS and conducted by Survata, _a web-based
survey company._ "

Yeah, we all know how reliable those are.

~~~
thrownaway2424
[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/us/politics/the-
techniques...](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/us/politics/the-techniques-
behind-the-most-accurate-polls.html)

