Amid tensions in the East China Sea, some Vietnamese companies engaged in importing Chinese goods have stopped importing from China and switched to importing from Thailand, South Korea and other countries. In addition, some Vietnamese who originally planned to travel to China also canceled their travel plans.
From a report by Asian media intellasia on May 24, we learned that VuXuanNam3DOrnamentalSlab, a company headquartered in Hanoi, has been importing Chinese furniture for two years and is now looking for new sources of supply, including South Korea. The company’s president said that Chinese furniture is very cheap, but Vietnamese consumers increasingly prefer high-quality furniture.
TinViet company specializes in ceramic tile business. An official of the company said that since the anti-China wave in Vietnam, sales of Chinese ceramic tiles have declined, so the company is considering changing its business scope.
VuThiThu, president of Q.TFashionJS, said that his company stopped importing clothing from China three days ago and is now importing clothing from Thailand.
Thuy Hien, president of SenVang Tourism and Trading Company, said that more and more Vietnamese tourists are canceling their trips to China. Before the “East China Sea” oil field incident, the company received many tourists traveling to China. Now the number of tourists traveling to China has dropped by 20%-30%. Another travel agency also said that the number of tourists going to China has decreased. Now there are only 2-3 tourists asking about traveling to China every day, compared with 10-20 people per day before. Recently, about 10% of tourists have canceled their plans to travel to China.
From reports in other media in Vietnam, we learned that goods made in Thailand have now replaced Chinese products in the Vietnamese market to a certain extent. Since Thai products are of higher quality than Chinese products, their prices are 30% more expensive than Chinese products. , but it is still loved by Vietnamese people.
Chinese imported goods have begun to face boycotts in the Vietnamese market. In addition to consumer goods, some Thai-made heavy industrial products are also entering Vietnam in a big way. Well-known brand products such as Sharp, Philips, Panasonic and Sanyo produced in Thai factories are being imported into Vietnam in large quantities. To a certain extent, these “Made in Thailand” products have replaced the status of Chinese products in the Vietnamese market.
The reporter believes that although Vietnam’s economy has achieved rapid growth in recent years, generally speaking, the purchasing power of ordinary consumers is still limited. The Vietnamese media said that the Vietnamese people are “tired” of cheap and low-quality Chinese products. They are eager to use high-quality goods and are willing to spend more money. These remarks are both exaggerated and serve as a cover to cover up Vietnamese nationalist sentiments.
When this reporter attended the 115th Canton Fair, I heard more than one foreign buyer say that the quality of Chinese goods is improving year by year. One buyer even said that China has strong manufacturing capabilities and that as long as it is willing to pay the price, goods of any quality can be purchased.
However, given that the territorial dispute between China and Vietnam cannot be resolved in a short period of time and the conflicts between the two countries are long-term, Chinese companies are reminded to be careful when investing in and trading with Vietnam and to be prepared at all times. Possible changes.
