TNS China

Chinese ratatouille

As millions of Chinese boarded their trains, buses and planes to get back to work after celebrating the commencement of the Chinese new year of the rat, many would have perhaps reflected back at the travails of their journey home to meet their families. Many, in fact could not make it home at all, a victim of mayhem in transportation as a result of the worst snow to hit China in over 50 years. Not positive press for China in the year of the rat - the year in which China will don the mantle of the Olympic host and bask in the glory of their achievements as the world gazes with awe and amazement.

While the bite of the snow still gnaws, it also encourages reflection on the state of the nation and the challenges it faces on the march to fulfill its ambition to become a moderately prosperous society (xiao kang shui ping, in Chinese). The plight of the near 200 million immigrant workers who faced the brunt of the frost is not the least of these. While fueling the improvement of the rural living conditions in countryside through remittances from the urban workplace, they continue to live a miserable existence in the cities. Subject to shady contracts, some times below legal wages, and little leave and social welfare, the workers provide the cheap labour at the country’s economic engines in its factories and construction sites. The relatively well healed urban dwellers often look at them with fear as the “haves” often look at the “have-nots”.

In spite of the harsh existence that this group ekes out, they are still responsible for bringing money to the otherwise impoverished countryside. The Chinese countryside was the first to prosper after the communal land was carved into smaller pieces and given to individual families for cultivation. However after the initial flush of improvement, the small farm sizes have failed to grow the incomes of the farmers, who are facing a mounting cost of living in terms of healthcare and children’s education facilities which the socialist state so far provided them at affordable levels. The Chinese government is paying special attention to this as evident in their development plan, embodied by the slogan of a “new countryside”.

While the rural residents learn to cope with these basic challenges, the urban folks face the rising real estate prices, making housing more and more inaccessible. The housing prices in 2007 rose as high as the buildings with the houses. Buying houses, is a new way of spending new money in China – just 15 years ago there were no houses to be bought, nor was there much money to buy anything. But now buying a house has become a de rigueur pre mating condition and the steadily rising price line is converting many young Chinese into fang nu (house slaves) as a result of having burdened themselves with frightening mortgages. The alternative is forced bachelorhood, if they couldn’t muster up the courage to take the loan (even if they did muster up the courage to ask the hand of the loved one in marriage!).

While the real estate was in the ascendance in the just concluded year of the pig, its flight paled into insignificance when compared to the 96.7% increase in the Shanghai composite index. For the 136 million Chinese who climbed onto the stock bandwagon, buying houses became a lot easier with this gift from the financial markets. However the many others who balked at what they saw as the irrational exuberance of the market, rued the fact that they did not have the courage to haul their hard earned savings to the nearest brokerage. However with the over 10% decline that the market has seen this year (over 40% decline from the dizzy heights of the peak in 2007) they are now congratulating themselves at their foresight.

While the issues confronting the Chinese are weighty, they have much to look forward to and bring back a cheer in the lives. Of course they will beam with pride when they will host the Olympics this year. In fact the pride is already on display as are the marvellous facilities, including the Bird’s Nest stadium and The Water Cube several months ahead of the schedule.

While the new apartments in the cities tax the bank accounts of the young Chinese who rush to acquire them, they offer distinctly improved living conditions from the old and cramped houses they inhabited earlier. The new owners are enjoying the modern acquisition and converting their homes into sanctuaries of comfort and privacy. The stores are brimming with goods to furnish the apartment and make it an exclusive abode, making its owners glow with pride.

The new middle class created as a result of entrepreneurship and well paying jobs from multinationals and Chinese companies bulging with corporate profits, are aspiring to a lifestyle of the Western elite. They visit bars, sip red wine, enjoy gourmet food, watch Hollywood films (including Ratatouille, dubbed into Chinese) and plan for holidays abroad. The chilling frost which heralded the year of the rat has done nothing to dampen the optimism and the enthusiasm of the urban Chinese who plan to continue the celebration into the year and many more to come. The year of the rat represents the start of a new cycle in the Chinese calendar – and perhaps for China too as it gets ready to stage the Olympics. Rat is believed to embody qualities of being quick witted, nimble and charming. “Rats” like to be in the thick of action, are sociable and are never late for a party – qualities which will undoubtedly be on display in Beijing during the Olympics.

The Traveling Chinese

Opening up the tourism business

In its inexorable march towards globalization and meeting its commitment to the WTO, China announced that it will permit joint venture tour operators to benefit from the booming outbound tourist business. So far the foreign and joint venture operators were restricted to participating only in the inbound and domestic travel business – though last year China did permit Hong Kong and Macau funded companies to start managing outbound tours to these two territories. While this change offers a tremendous opportunity for foreign travel agencies to secure a share in this lucrative market, it also poses a challenge of successfully meeting the unique needs of the Chinese overseas traveler.

Chinese tourists

This announcement offers a significant opportunity to foreign travel trade as the outbound Chinese tourism grows rapidly and “holiday abroad” becomes an integral part of the lifestyle of urban elite. One is used to the sight of monuments and galleries of Europe and other tourist attractions of the world being overrun by Handycam wielding Japanese tourists. However, the Japanese chatter at the Colloseum and the Louvre is likely to be drowned in Chinese twitter, as the number of Chinese outbound travelers for the first time last year, exceeded the Japanese.

It was only in 1984 that the first post liberation ordinary Chinese traveled abroad to Hong Kong. And it was as recent as 2004 that the first Chinese from the mainland visited Europe on a tourist visa. However within a short span of time, hordes of Chinese are heading abroad for a holiday. Over 40 million Chinese visited abroad last year – up 19% from 2006 – and it is believed that this figure will reach 100 million by 2015.

Choice considerations

While collectively Chinese consumers are a formidable force, individually the disposable income levels even in the big cities are still a fraction of the developed countries. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Chinese tourist carefully watches the budget while planning a foreign trip. However, interestingly, the figures suggest that, the Chinese tourists’ total spend on visits abroad is quite high. While the tourists scrimp on hotel and seldom dine in chic restaurants, they spend the savings on buying watches, jewelry and clothing – not just for themselves but as gifts for relatives, colleagues and friends back home. Apart from sightseeing and leisure over 40% of potential tourists mention shopping as a key reason for foreign tourism (a figure which goes up to 47% among female tourists).

Given the fact that for the Chinese traveling abroad is a relatively recent phenomenon, the excitement of travel is often mingled with a feeling of apprehension. The feeling is further compounded by a realization that lack of fluency in English or other foreign languages may create unexpected problems. As a result, safety is stated as an important concern while traveling abroad, particularly by the older consumers. This possibly also explains the fact that a large proportion of the Chinese tourists prefer to travel in organized groups. The younger tourists, however, are less concerned about safety and are happy to set off on their own.

Golden week

While most potential Chinese tourists state that the travel abroad will be during their “paid leave”, many hope to combine their leave with a “golden week” (one of the three week long holidays, achieved by compensatory working on weekends) to enable them to prolong the sojourn abroad. However, last year after much discussion and fanfare, China cancelled the May Day golden week and substituted it with holidays for three important traditional Chinese festivals. While the general response to this change has been positive, it is not surprising that the potential foreign visitors are a little perturbed by this and many of them feel that this cancellation will affect their ability to holiday abroad. The three new holidays, on the other hand, will offer opportunities for shorter trips to nearby destinations, which may increase in popularity.

America here we come!

Hong Kong was the first destination to welcome the mainland tourists, and its proximity, shopping allure, Disneyland and other attractions, still keep it at the top of the table of the preferred destinations of Chinese tourists.  Europe is next, and Southeast Asia and Australia figure next in line. US which is a very salient and influential country among the young urban Chinese, figures much lower down. However, this is not because of lack of interest in the country, as research has shown that US is greatly admired as a centre of arts, science and also for its significant tourist attractions.

The reason for this is the fact that even now the Chinese tourists can only holiday in those countries which are conferred an “Approved Destinations Status” (ADS). Other places can be visited but only on business, for education or to visit relatives. Only 20 destinations enjoyed an ADS status in 2002, but this has leapfrogged to 134 destinations now.

So far the US was not an approved destination for the Chinese tourists. Chinese could travel to the US (some 320,000 of them did so in 2006) but the travel was restricted to business, visiting friends or relatives or education. However, this has changed and US has just obtained an ADS status, and the first Chinese tourists may set off to the US as early as this spring. This is a source of great excitement to the Chinese to see a country which is a source of great interest to them, and which also exercises considerable influence through its popular art and entertainment. While the appreciating yuan against the dollar makes the travel cheaper for the Chinese, it is an opportunity for the Americans to lower their negative balance of payment by rolling out the red carpet for the Chinese and making them feel safe and at home.

Based on an online research among 403 Chinese, aged 15-44 and living in key tier 1 and tier 2 cities of China. The research was conducted by TNS, the largest marketing information provider in China, and the second largest research agency in the world.

Written by Ashok Sethi
The author lives in Shanghai and is the head of research methods and analytics for TNS.

The Eclectic Chinese

A holiday to sweep the tombs

Chinese traditionally bury the dead. However, after the enlightened communists took reign of the country, they very rationally declared that the priority for the land is for the living and not the dead. Chinese were told to cremate the dead, burials were banned as was the erection of tombs. Given this, it seemed surprising when earlier this month, the Chinese government declared Tomb-sweeping day to be a new holiday in China. Along with the Tomb-sweeping day, holidays were also declared for two other traditional festivals of Dragon Boat festival and Mid-Autumn festival. Are the Chinese re-discovering their traditions? After years of efforts to obliterate the traditional shackles, is the Chinese government now encouraging the people to celebrate their traditions? What makes it even more surprising is the fact that these holidays will replace the three day holiday observed for the May Day celebration – an occasion of symbolic importance to socialism, whose ideals the Chinese government still claims to espouse.

The three day May Day holiday was, in fact, used to be extended into a “golden week” by adding the intervening days to the weekend (the additional holidays compensated for by working on the preceding or following weekend). Before this declaration, China observed three “golden weeks” in a year – three week long holidays for the Chinese New Year, the National Day in October and the May Day celebration. This has been the policy since 1999, when the Chinese government decided that the citizens must get an opportunity to spend their new wealth and in the process further boost the economy. Now China retains two of these golden weeks, but has substituted the third with three one-day holidays for traditional festivals.

Rediscovering the traditions

The Chinese government, as one would expect, is governed more by practical logic than tradition or sentiment. The real reason for this change perhaps lies in the fact that the three golden weeks had started to create a mayhem by the en masse movement of millions of Chinese. The populace takes the opportunity to get out of their homes, visit their families or go for vacations. This causes an immense strain on transportation and other services, and people started complaining about the exorbitant prices, traffic snarls and poor service during these weeks. Additionally, for a country so dependent on foreign trade, it is perplexing as well as vexing for its international trade partners when they see the frenetic trade coming to an abrupt halt as often as three times a year.

However, apart from the rational, there are also emotional factors guiding the change. The Chinese, with their new found wealth and prosperity, now have a reason for celebration and pride. Embracing the old traditions, and practising the associated rituals with openness and confidence is a part of that resurgence of national pride. Chinese today not only want acknowledgment for their economic success, but they also wish to be applauded for their history and traditions. Chinese have set up Confucius Institutes in 50 countries, sent their terracotta warriors for display in the British Museum - all in an attempt to demonstrate that not only is this a country of extraordinary manufacturing prowess and technology, but also has a cultural richness which deserves noticing and appreciation.

Embracing the West

Not only does China seem to be rediscovering its own traditions, it seems to be embracing the ones from the West with equal gusto and enthusiasm. Christmas celebrations began early and cut-out figures of Santa Claus started appearing in shop windows of departmental stores from the middle of November. The silver bells, figures of reindeers, elves and snowmen jostle each other in almost a chaotic, almost desperate representation of the Christmas spirit. In a rousing finale, earlier this week large pictorial displays of Christmas scenes appeared in most office buildings and a Christmas tree with twinkling lights, encircled with gold paper covered pots of poinsettia embellish the entrance of every office or hotel.

For a country of atheists, this celebration of a Christian festival with such enthusiasm is perhaps baffling. However, Christmas in China is not about religion, but a modern paean to consumption and fun. Masses of people throng the streets, visit bars and haunt the stores for discounted products. Chinese celebration of Christmas, is a typical example of how China embraces the West to its own advantage and adapts it to selectively pick its best from their own point of view. So no Christmas cake or plum pudding – we prefer our dumplings (according to a TNS survey, Chinese consider no food in the world to be anywhere near their own) and no midnight mass – religion has no part to play here. But shopping, gifting, drinking and merry making is embraced with zest and passion.

The marketing challenge of understanding the Chinese consumer

Neither burdened with strong traditions and rituals, nor under the blind sway of the West, Chinese are behaving in an eclectic way in deciding what to embrace and what to discard. Their decisions are based on practical logic, commerce and now also a sense of national pride. For marketers it is essential to understand how the Chinese weigh several, often contradictory, arguments and pulls to make the decision. This is as true for which festivals to celebrate as it is for which products and brands to adopt. Only keeping a hand permanently on the Chinese consumers’ complex pulse can guide the marketers in the right direction.

A porcine issue

Pigs in china

China Daily, the leading English language daily newspaper in China, reported yesterday that a hog weighing more than 1,040 kg was crowned the “king of pigs” in Ningxiang County, Hunan province over the weekend. To the best of my recollection, PG Wodehouse, while describing the adventures of the Empress of Blandings, never really mentioned her precise weight, but it would perhaps be a fair assumption that Lord Emsworth would have been proud of this achievement, if his own sow had reached such heights (or weights, to be more precise).

The story on the fattest pig is not the only porcine story in the Chinese papers this year. In fact, pig and pork are extremely salient in china at the moment. China’s consumer price index (CPI) jumped 6.5% from a year ago in October, with the price of food jumping 17.6% year on year. Specifically pork prices almost doubled this year due to short supply and mounting feedstuff costs, driving up the consumer price index to an 11 year-high of 6.5 percent in August. Apart from rising prices for grain used as feed, blue ear disease - also known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome - killed a large number of pigs nationwide last year. As a result, the Chinese farmers, despite their love for pigs and their meat, were less enthusiastic in rearing them than in the past. The central and local governments plan to launch a concerted effort to rekindle their enthusiasm for raising pigs and boosting pork supplies. China is on a comfortable and steady growth path and maintaining stability – whether it is in currency valuation, consumer incomes, political climate or pork prices – is of the essence.

The year of the golden pig

Ironically the scarcity of pigs comes in the year of the pig (there was no shortage of chicken in the year of the rooster in 2005, and no shortage of dragons is expected in the year of the dragon in 2012). In Chinese tradition, each year is cyclically assigned one of the 12 animals, each of whom are believed to bestow some specific benedictions and character idiosyncrasies on the humans born in that specific twelve month period. The year of the pig is one of the more cherished ones and thought to bring luck, prosperity and ampleness (like itself). A person born this year is likely to be intelligent, honest, courageous, gallant, and sincere. They are good implementers can be relied on to see things through. They also tend to be popular and make lasting friendship and are good neighbors.

The years also rotate through five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth – and when pig and metal (gold really) coincide (as it was believed to have happened this year) the floodgates of fortune are expected to open like never seen before (or only seen 60 years ago, as that is when it would have occurred before). 

It was under this expectation, that the youth of China timed their sexual activity to ensure the arrival of their offsprings in this auspicious period. It is reported that this year saw the birth of a lot more babies than the previous years. Of course, none thought about the pressure it will bring to the lives of the Chinese obstetricians, who were getting used to an easy life, thanks to China’s one child policy. Similarly, the supply of maternal beds and other wherewithals related to child birth are also reported to be strained. On the happier side, figures indicate that the companies manufacturing diapers, baby foods and other goods of “little” interest have upped their advertising and are reaping generous rewards.

The marketing opportunity

Marketing companies often struggle with the extent to which they need to balance their global strategies with the subtleties of local culture and traditions. The fervent communist era in China and the cultural revolution did its best to liberate the Chinese from the shackles of their traditions and beliefs. However, the interest in Chinese Zodiac, the strong beliefs about lucky and unlucky numbers (most Chinese buildings do not number the 4th floor, as number 4, because of the similarity of its Chinese pronunciation with death, is believed to bring misfortune) and the increasing enthusiasm with which Chinese traditional festivals are celebrated, seems to suggest that companies will be well advised to take cognizance of the traditions, and develop their marketing campaigns to take advantage of the consumer interest in these. The more marketing savvy companies in China are already launching special communication and marketing campaigns around traditional festivals. The festival related marketing activities are likely to receive a further boost from the recent government decision to declare three additional holidays for the Chinese festivals of Tomb-sweeping day, Dragon Boat festival and Mid-autumn festival.

The fattest pig in China

While marketing companies deliberate on appropriate strategies to win the hearts of the Chinese consumers, it is reported that the owner Xiao Shahong of the Chinese “king of pigs” apparently declined an offer to part with her precious animal, at a record of more than 50,000 yuan ($6,730). It is befitting that the prized pig is preserved, loved and cherished while the Chinese celebrate the last few months of the year symbolized by it.

New slogans for the new times

Let a hundred slogans bloom

With the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China taking place in Beijing this week, it is time to raise new slogans as encapsulation of  contemporary ideas and challenges. Use of slogans in China, and in fact much of the world, is a long tradition. Emperors, political leaders and corporations have raised slogans to communicate their ideas, enthuse the public into action, motivate them, win their support and, of course, to open up their wallets.

Slogans, have been integral to life in China. One of the best known slogans “let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend“ made famous by Mao Zedong, actually has its origin in the Warring States period in  475-221 BC. During the earlier days of communism, the country was wired up through public address systems with broadcast of slogans, exhortations, party doctrine and messages. From time to time new slogans made their way and the one which really changed the country and paved the way for rapid economic strides was the one proclaimed by Deng Xiao Ping when he said “to get rich is glorious” (or words to that effect).

The current rage propounded by President Hu Jintao is “harmonious society”. Additionally some time ago when the government abolished the agricultural tax, the move was accompanied by a slogan of “new countryside”. Also talked about for quite some time is China’s ambition to achieve a “moderately prosperous society” (xiao kang). In his two and a half hour address to the delegates, President Hu Jintao, while describing several important achievements as well as several significant challenges facing China today, added a few more in this congress – scientific outlook on development (implying balanced and sustainable development) and socialism with Chinese characteristics (indicating that China will chart out its own unique path and the rest of the world should stop expecting it to follow them!).

Era of commercial slogans

Over a period of time the shrillness of political slogans has been drowned and replaced by the din of commercial advertising and messages of indoctrination gave way to messages of inducement of unspeakable joys of consumption or unthinkable relief on usage of various products. Many international advertising slogans such as “Just do it” of Nike and “I am lovin it” of McDonald’s have also found their way into China. However coming from the tradition of sloganeering, it was not surprising that the initial advertising often resembled the tone and form of traditional slogans. Even now a large proportion of advertising seen on the Chinese television comprises models holding the product to the camera and ecstatically recounting its virtues.

It was thought that the Chinese consumer is a simple soul and can not understand the subtlety of soft and clever advertising which attempts to endear the brand through use of emotions or clever creative devices. Direct communication of the benefits in unambiguous terms was considered the safe route of communication. As a result while advertising in many other markets is as much entertainment as brand communication and attempts to engage the consumer through subtle creative devices, in China it is often a direct onslaught with the core benefit – often repeated several times within the same advertisement.

However, research done in China shows that this direct route does not have to be the one that an advertiser needs to embrace to succeed. Emotional advertising works and so does humour, endorsement or any of the other genre of advertising practiced elsewhere. The success of advertising in China, as elsewhere, depends on the ability of the advertisement to address the key consumer concerns, to overcome the deterrents for use and offer persuasive motivations for adoption of the brand. It also depends upon the extent to which the advertising portrays a social imagery that the target group can identify with and its ability to reflect consumer culture and aspirations. Sophisticated research techniques are available to help companies in creating effective advertising, pre-testing it and monitoring its continued effectiveness.

With the growth of Web 2.0 and user generated media, companies are also recognizing the need to include the common consumers as co-creators of communication, not merely as testers in research. Consumers often unleash their creativity on the net in parodying commercial advertising or sometimes trying to improve it. Companies and agencies have realized the need to harness this creativity and new solutions are being developed for creation of more effective advertising.

Learning from commercial advertising

While the governments and officials may not have fully adopted the principles of modern advertising, it is interesting to see that they are also changing their attitude and strategy of communication. A recent example of this is the change in the Chinese government’s usage of family planning slogans. The initial adoption of the one-child policy in late 1970’s was accompanied by strident and heavy handed communication. The slogans at that time included – “one less child is one less tomb” and “have less children and more piggies”. In an effort to reflect the modern times, the National Population and Family Planning Commission in early August also took consumer feedback and participation and decided to begin replacing offensive slogans with new, more gentle communication, replacing the stick with a carrot. The new messages revolve around positive motivations of "healthy childbearing," "reproductive health," "rearing better children," and "care for girls,". The new kinder messages like "Mother Earth is too tired to sustain more children" and "Both boys and girls are in parents' hearts" reflect the changing mood of the nation and a population which is demanding and getting more and more respect, consideration and a distinct voice.

What the Chinese think of the United States?

China and the US

China’s currency has gained by 8.3% since the dollar peg was eliminated. However the Bush administration is still unhappy about, what they see as, the sluggish pace of appreciation. The Americans cavil that the undervalued yuan continues to give an unfair advantage to Chinese exports, leading to a ballooning trade deficit. Though the relationship between the US and China has improved dramatically over the last decade, the political climate has never been easy. At the same time the ordinary Chinese continue to lap up the American pop culture, eat American junk food and watch prodigious amount of American soap (in pirated DVDs - much to the chagrin of the Americans). TNS set to find out what the ordinary Chinese citizens think about the US, its products, culture and the American people.

Economic powerhouse and a world leader

To start with, the Chinese clearly acknowledge America as an economic powerhouse, a world leader and an influential country – far ahead of any other country, including their own. As an economic power they place China at the third place, just a little behind Japan. However as a “world leader” and an “influential country” the Chinese place their own country at the No. 2 slot, after the US, but far ahead of any other country. It is evident that the Chinese are proud of what they have achieved (justifiably so, if you look at the 8%+ growth rate for 20 years in succession) and clearly place China far ahead of any other as a country “with a fast growing economy”.

The Chinese do not have a high association of any country other than their own as “peaceful”. The Scandinavian countries come next – though at a significant distance from China. Only 9% consider the US as “peaceful” –the same as the UK. Japan, a country against which China still harbors historical grudges, is rated even poorer.

Land of superior goods

On the commercial front, the Chinese hold the US in a very high esteem. US has the second highest association with a country “which makes excellent quality products” (a 33% association, next only to Germany at 38%). Japan and Scandinavian countries also do well, followed by Korea, China itself and UK.
US industry is seen to excel in many areas – ranging from quality of high tech products (No. 1 position), health care products (No. 1), and quality of drinks (No. 1 again). Despite all the trouble facing the American automobile industry, Chinese still hold the American automobiles in high regard – next only to the ones made by the Germans. US also comes at number 2 position on quality of consumer electronics – but significantly behind Japan.

Number 2 position is also enjoyed by US on quality of personal care products and quality of luxury products (behind France), quality of machinery (behind Germans).  In the field of computer hardware and software, US is a clear leader – with no other country anywhere near it. In general, American products have a perception of being technologically advanced, innovative and modern. Germans and the Japanese do better on products with good craftsmanship, good detailing and products with a long life. Quite understandably, the Chinese consider themselves as the country offering products with the best value for money (followed by Japan, and the US not doing too badly at No. 3 slot).

Fashion leader and trend setter

America is seen to combine the best of science and art, and is not only seen as a centre of technological excellence but also as fashion leader and a trend setter. US is far ahead of anyone else in producing good popular music and good movies and drama. Chinese express their appreciation of this by lapping up the pirated DVDs and downloading from free file share sites – though not as the US would like them to express - by paying the full price that the Americans normally pay. While in pop art, the US reigns supreme, when it comes to serious art and culture, it is France which takes the place of pride, and specifically on the quality of museums, UK takes the top spot.

Not only science, technology and art, the Chinese recognize American excellence in education and sports. American Universities are considered as the best, with UK not far behind.   The Chinese feel that the US is the best country in the world to go and work in (China included). However, much to the relief of the anti-immigration American lobby, most Chinese still prefer to settle and finally retire in their own country. They would, however, like to visit America as tourists – though in this America competes strongly with several other destinations such as Australia (No. 1), Scandinavia (No. 2), France (No. 3) and Italy (No. 4).

Cuisine and people

In spite of the fact that the Chinese consume large quantities of Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s burgers (or perhaps because of it!), the Chinese do not hold the American cuisine in a high esteem. On this aspect, Chinese show extreme patriotism, though some have positive associations with French food.
Finally, there is one area that the Americans seriously need to improve their image. Only 17% of Chinese women consider American men as handsome. Many more Chinese women seem to be drawn towards the French (25%), the British (22%) and the Italians (21%).

American women also have some work ahead of them. Only 16% of the Chinese men would consider them as beautiful. Unlike the Chinese women, the Chinese men are most drawn to their own country women (40%), though some acknowledge the charms of the French ladies (23%).

What the Chinese think of the UK?

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.