“Made in China” Favored by Middle East Merchants at China Fair Jordan
Source:Xinhua News Agency, Time: Aug. 20, 2007
Two businessmen in white robes and red-and-white chess scarves are listening to China exhibitors introducing their candy wrappers at the forth China Fair Jordan – Rebuild Iraq & Lebanon at Amman, the capital of Jordan. They have been participating in every China Fair since 2005. As for reasons, they are quite frank: with similar quality and much lower price, why not choosing “Made in China”?
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31-year-old Jordanese Said owns a fashion shop in the Majeed Mansion near Jordan University. He told the journalist that almost every single piece of goods, from garments, shoes, trunks, gifts to computer accessories, and home appliance, is “Made in China”. Many shop owners can speak some Chinese, as they often go to China for procurement.
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“Purchasing at local or other places may lead to much higher prices; however, customers will simply turn away when seeing a T-shirt costing over 50 dinars.” Said said, “That is why we all choose ‘Made in China’. Cheap, fashionable and of good quality, they are favored by students here.”
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In 2006, the trade volume between China and Jordan amounted to 1.03 billion USD, with 0.97 billion USD exported to Jordan from China. The local market supply is enriched with diversified China products.
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As for “Made in China”, businessmen in the Middle East were at first suspicious, then they had a try and got to know China products, and finally they found themselves confident in China products.
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The Jordan Director of Haier Middle East Home Appliance Co., Ltd. said that when Haier entered into the Middle East Market, many people were suspicious of its quality. As time moves on, Haier is now well known for its excellent quality, which has become the synonym with “Best Buy” with the positive words of mouth.
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“It was exactly the same with the situation when Japanese vehicles came to the Middle East market. When local customers get used to German and US made vehicles , they were suspicious of Japanese products. Nevertheless, at last Japanese vehicles took most market shares.” Gao Guang from International Market Department of Shenzhen Edan Instruments, Inc was optimistic about the future of “Made in China”, saying “The more they try, the better they love China products.”
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At this Fair, Eden, first to Jordan market, has prepared detailed product presentations, demonstrating various instruments including fetal monitors and ECG. Customers have shown strong interest in these “Made in China” instruments, which have passed US, EU certifications like German and Japanese competitors but which are 50% cheaper. They said that they had some knowledge about Chinese products, and that was why they came to China pavilions. Having witnessed these products, they are now sure about the advantage of Made in China in terms of cost performance, which are complemented by various international certifications and after-sales services.
According to the organizer statistics, on-spot turnover of this Fair added up to 2 million USD, with 22 million USD more for agreed turnover. Meanwhile, Chinese entrepreneurs are also eager to duplicate “Made in China” in Jordan, and the intended investment amounted to 6 million USD.