China's image in Colombia

This topic is very sensitive and I don't want to write it. In the past, the image of Venezuelan China in Colombia was also written softly . From the last negative news that appeared on TV at the beginning of the year, I had the urge to write. Today, the negative news about China has reappeared on the main Colombian TV channels, and it is also the front page. Of course, if I have thoughts and opinions like LUQIU LUWEI's (in fact, I really didn't mean to be serious with her, just because I just read her article "Be a Law-abiding and Civilized Citizen" published by Tencent last night), I don't need to write it at all, and I can say that I don't have to blush and feel guilty about it.

In fact, the last time there was negative news was at the end of last year. It is about the straw hat imported from China, which imitates the Colombian national symbol (in fact, it is similar to the straw hat in southern China, but it is different in shape and design). It flooded the market, which had a great impact on local production and sales and national image. It was sued by the people, manufacturers and merchants in the country of origin and went directly to the Chamber of Parliament. As a result, it was sentenced to confiscate all the products found to be sold in the market and prohibit them from appearing in the market again. Moreover, in February this year, before the famous BARRANQUILLA barranquilla Carnival in Colombia, it was mentioned again in the news of major TV stations, and the impact can be imagined.

On June 6th, 2013, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Bolí var Square (equivalent to Tiananmen Square in China), the national symbolic capital of Bogota. They included manufacturers and merchants affected by China's cheap shoes and shoe workers who were affected or unemployed. Shoe industry colleagues in major cities, such as MEDELLIN Medellin, Calikari, BUCARAMANGA Bucaramanga and CUCUTA Kukuta, also organized massive demonstrations at the same time, in coordination with the actions of their counterparts in the capital, to protest against the footwear products made in China smuggled into Colombia from China or neighboring countries.

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They told reporters that these cheap shoes made in China are cheap and inferior in quality. Cheap shoes that cost less than 30,000 pesos (equivalent to less than US$ 16) will rot in less than three months. Their locally made shoes cost about 50,000 pesos, but they are durable and can last for a year or two. And called on consumers to support domestic products and resist the import of inferior products. It not only protects the rights and interests of its own consumers, but also protects the local manufacturing industry.

As far as I know, Colombia used to be a Spanish colony. After independence, it preferred the United States. Its national legal system and educational model are quite beautified. It is also the bridgehead of the United States in Central and South America and the country with the best relations with the United States. Colombians generally don't know much about China, even don't know this country, or are equal to Japan and South Korea. I mentioned this in my other articles, so I won't be burdensome here. )

Cars and electrical appliances in Japan and South Korea have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people here. Korean dramas and Japanese-sponsored gift-giving programs currently being broadcast on two major TV channels (RCN and CARACOL) are also programs with high ratings. Of course, in recent years, Chinese-made cars and motorcycles have also occupied a certain market here, but the news about China from the mainstream media is a bit frustrating. Although the positive reports of Huawei, ZTE and other telecommunications industries occasionally appear in some professional media, what often comes out in the mainstream media is more negative news.

Of course, this is the bridgehead of the United States and an ally of the United States. A few years ago, Americans were kidnapped, and the FBI immediately sent hundreds of people to participate in the investigation and rescue work, which is unreasonable in other countries.

The year before last, the Colombian government also sent a large number of military and police officers to participate in the search and rescue work for the kidnapping of China Oil Company personnel, but stressed that it was not allowed to negotiate with the kidnappers-anti-government armed forces and pay the ransom privately, otherwise the company would be expelled from the country. This year, when the peace talks between the Colombian government and the rebels in Cuba were in full swing, the hostages were released. Former President Uribe immediately posted a message on the Internet saying that China Company had paid the rebels a ransom. This means putting pressure on the current government to investigate and expel the China company. During this period, some French journalists were kidnapped. But then the French government and the International Red Cross came forward to rescue them, and they were released a month later. God knows whether there was a ransom or not, but no one said anything. Maybe the reporter is an exception.

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As a global strategic consideration, the United States has curbed China and used the propaganda media of its allies to carry out negative propaganda on China to confuse people. At this point, China is far behind, as can be seen from the example of Colombia. Although the Confucius Institute is blooming everywhere now, it remains to be seen.

Anyway, let's talk about these two things again. To be honest, I believe that it is not the China merchants who want to erode this market and deliberately sell these products here. Instead, the businessmen here took a fancy to the profitability made in China, and went to China to order the goods they wanted, so as to seek more profit space. In fact, this is understandable and normal in the business world, especially in the capitalist society.

As a manufacturer, it ordered samples and traded normally, but it inadvertently hurt the national image. I think, this is what no one wants to see, but there is nothing to do.

In the first thing, if the manufacturer can know something about the product and Colombian culture, he may be aware of the problems that will happen. Here, the product is protected by law and is a cultural heritage. And economically, it is a strong support for poor producing areas, because the price of these products is also a luxury in Colombia, and it is not a daily necessity for everyone. (There are news reports on this matter in Sina's space of "clearing Colombia's name". ）。 Of course, under the guiding ideology of "economy first" in China today, people will not stop doing this business because they know the consequences, I believe.

Being friends and doing business are two different things, right? Making friends is a national matter, and meat eaters seek it. Doing business is a manufacturer's business, a private business, and a pain in cutting meat. There is always a contradiction of unclear delivery between them, so I won't say much.

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The second thing is actually a criminal record. In Spain, wasn't the warehouse of Zhejiang people burned down? It happens to be a former colony of Spain, and it also inherits their traditional handicraft industry. Therefore, we can also foresee what will happen in the future. It seems that we haven't found China people selling straw hats and buying shoes here for the time being (maybe I'm closed), which is a blessing in disguise.

In addition to the above two things, in 2007 (if I remember correctly), I signed a tourist destination agreement with China, which was tried for six months, but was forced to cancel after three months. The reason is that snakeheads use this place as a transit point to re-export human snakes to Venezuela and the United States. It is said that at that time, more than two-thirds of the planes were from China, and people from China could be seen everywhere in Bogota and its suburbs. The border city of Cukuta was even more crowded in China, full of Guangdong Enping people waiting to be smuggled into Venezuela.

I didn't see the situation with my own eyes, but I felt the attitude of the police towards China people before and after. Before, I drove through the checkpoint and saw that I was from China. I waved my hand and said hello.

After that, frequent walking was also stopped to check the documents. The last one was a tour group from Bogota. I took the bus, and the police stopped when they saw it. After checking the identities of all China people, there was nothing they could do. Finally, I took it out on the driver and said that the destination was not written in the task list (when the tourist bus picks up people who enter Colombia with passports, it must indicate where to go on the company's task list). Halfway through, I called the people of the China-Colombia Chamber of Commerce and asked them to explain to the police and so on, which delayed for half an hour. Finally, from the words of the police, "it is to see if their passports have overstayed", which can be seen as the sequela of the 2007 incident. This is the bitter fruit of China people's own cultivation!

Overseas Chinese are foreigners' first impressions of China, and China goods are foreigners' first impressions of China products in international trade. How to establish China's international image is the responsibility of the China government, any China people and manufacturers. I believe that after experiencing a painful lesson, everyone will sit back and think about it and absorb the lesson. Someone once said that doing business is the same as being a man. If you are successful, your business will grow bigger and longer. The government is the institution that manages the country, and every citizen is a member of the country. If everyone does a good job, the image of the country will not be bad. Are you right?