GOOD MORNING FROM LONDON #170
The Chinese consumer is active, not passive. He/She has a voice + a choice + needs to be taken seriously. The West wrongly views the 1.4bn people of China as cannon fodder who do what they are told to do – one of the many things Westerners get wrong about China.
The Chinese have pride in their country + in their Party and when China is attacked, the people fight back. Shares in Chinese apparel groups rallied as a backlash against western brands that are talking up concerns over forced labour.
International companies need to be careful. The US/UK govt may try to pressure them to support a genocide/forced sterilisation/force labour policy. But this is not a one-way street. The Boycott Backlash will grow + Western companies long term strategies for greater market penetration of China will hit big problems. Today H+M, tomorrow General Motors?
As China peaks the US and becomes the No 1 Economic Power – about 2029 – the US is desperate. It will scrap + fight. China has seen this coming. Many tussles lie ahead.
