The Chinese refer to the UK as Yingguo – heroic country, just as they call the US Meiguo – beautiful country and France Faguo – legal country. However, the Chinese perceptions of UK seem to suggest that the country needs to really do some heroic deeds to raise its profile and status in the Chinese mind.
When asked which country would they associate with “Overall excellent quality of products”, it is Germany which takes the top slot (38%) with US closely behind (33%). Japan and Scandinavian countries also do well, but UK comes only at No. 6 – in fact at the same position as China itself. A similar sentiment was expressed by the Chinese Emperor Qianlong in 1793, when he sent back the ambassador of King George III, telling him to keep the British merchandise in Britain. On some products UK does better than others – more Chinese associate UK with luxury products and garments (France, of course, leads the pack on both of these – and Chinese also feel that their own country is making pretty good garments). A perception that the British make good cars (though far behind Germany, US and Japan) lead to the Chinese buying the MG Rover company. In machinery and hardware also UK figures in the top 5.
Chinese, surprisingly, were introduced to Western liquor through Cognac, and bottles of XO were downed in nightclubs, often mixed with liberal doses of green tea. Of late thanks to the efforts of companies like Diageo, Chinese are learning to appreciate Scotch, though they still tend to drown the subtle Speyside flavours by mixing it in green tea. This induction is perhaps responsible for a good association of UK with good alcoholic drinks.
The Chinese do not have a very clear and strong association with the type of products the British are good at making. However a weak feeling exists that the British will manufacture products which will be long lasting, good looking and technologically advanced.
Culture and museums
While in manufacturing the British do not inspire awe, in the cultural arena UK does much better. When asked which countries would they consider as culturally rich and having rich traditions, next to their own country, after a long margin, UK and India share the honours. Last year, Madame Tussaud’s opened a museum in Shanghai. This possibly contributed to the fact that there is one attribute the British are seen to excel in – clearly ahead of all the rest – the quality of museums. Not surprising is also the very positive association of the quality of Universities (next only to the US). Not only is the UK host to many Chinese students, University of Nottingham has its own campus in Ningbo, a port city in the Zhejiang province. Just as University of Liverpool is collaborating with Xi’an Jiaotong University to commence operations in Suzhou, a beautiful garden city 82 kilometers North-West of Shanghai.
While British films don’t really enthuse the Chinese, pirated copies of BBC television programs are widely available. However they take a beating from the American soaps, which are also widely pirated, downloaded onto PCs and watched with fascination.
Prefer fish head to fish and chips
Not surprisingly perhaps, UK is at the bottom of the pile on quality of food – just a bit ahead of Australia. Naturally the Chinese think their own food is the best – a large part of the rest of the world possibly also agrees. But while the British spice may not titillate, the British Spice Girls do. Next to the US, British are most positively associated with good popular music.In spite of the damp fish and chips, the Chinese are willing to come to UK to work – more that any country other than US. For tourism too, they are happy to give it a go, though Australia, France, Italy and even Scandinavia are seen to be more enticing.
