China scares: hoaxes, spinning and an occassional truth - the WTO-colum

(Later at Chinabiz)

Tooth paste, cough syrup, fish, cars, pet food: the world has seen a host of China-scares in the recent months. Of course: pets should not die when they eat food and killing more than hundred people in Panama is nothing short of a criminal act. But in the slipstream of those incidents, a flood of similar stories has been setting off many alarm bells. While vigilance is more than justified when the quality standards of Chinese products are being challenged, we should also watch out for the Western spin doctors, who see a good chance of destroying the image of their Chinese competitors. They often have a free ride, because nobody is really opposing their strategies.

When German and Dutch lobby organizations published in June about a devastating crash test of the China-made sedan Brilliance, I heard another alarm bell going off.

In 2005 those same organizations tested also the Landwind and the devastating results of that Chinese SUV killed off the efforts of yet another Chinese car producer to export their cars to Europe.

In March last year, I was standing at the tarmac of Pudong Airport, waiting for a flight to Hong Kong, when I discovered my neighbor worked for a major supplier of the Landwind-producer. Of course I expressed my sympathy. "Did you never hear the original test was recalled?" he wondered. I did not.

Later I discovered he was right. The Landwind has complied with the European safety standards, but that message never got through to me, let alone to the thousands of potential buyers. European spin doctors had effectively destroying its image.

For all those reasons it should have been logical to look at the June test results of the Brilliance with some care, but with few exceptions the Chinese car became again part of a successful lobby targeting Chinese products.

Apart from European spin doctors scoring yet another success in blocking Chinese trade with unjustified arguments, the silence on the Chinese side is equally disturbing. Chinese companies with global aspiration, especially when they make relative high-end products like cars, should be aware of the power of media campaigns on their new markets. Regardless whether those arguments are right or wrong, or a little bit right and a little bit wrong, they should have their counter-strategy in place. Now it is only the importing companies who are faced with the negative fallout and all to often they will stick their hands in the air and try to cut their losses.

Next year there will be a new Chinese car, trying to enter the international market. In Dutch we have a saying: a mule does not hurt itself twice at the same stone. Let's hope the Chinese car makers do not hurt themselves for the third time at the same stone.

Fons Tuinstra