CRI听力: Chinese Firms Eye Brand Building at Birmingham Spring Fair

As the UK economy emerges from recession, Chinese exporters are taking the opportunity to increase their presence on the market. A record number of Chinese companies are exhibiting their products at the annual Spring Fair in Birmingham. Their aim is more than to increase sales volume. Our London correspondent Tu Yun reports.

Reporter:

Ned Stevanovski works at an e-commerce company based in the southwestern English city of Bath. He's been searching for educational toys at the Birmingham Spring Fair, one of the world's major retail buying events.

"I think mainly we are looking for products from China, really. To be competitive with a price, we have to go to China."

With the economy still staggering, it seems a rational choice for a trade company to put into its inventory more Chinese-made products, which have long been known for being cheap.

But sales volume is not what Jiang Jinfeng is most concerned with at the event. Jiang Jinfeng is a manager at the Guangzhou-based battery maker Tigerhead.

"We're concerned about branding. But in Europe, Britain in particular, the consumers here are very loyal to their local brands. We are stuck with being an original equipment manufacturer, which means people don't know the product is made by us. Once there is an economic crisis, the brand owner may shift their manufacturing bases to other countries like Vietnam or Thailand. We don't have a say."

Gao Huiming, general manager of the Shanghai-based giftware maker Royal Gifts, shares the concern. With some 70 percent of its products already sold in Europe, the company intends to make a shift.

"We've been devoted to developing our own brands over the past few years. We want to open self-possessed branded stores, not merely be an original equipment manufacturer. We want to shift from 'made in-China' to 'created in China.'"

Both Gao Huiming and Jiang Jinfeng say showcasing products at an international fair can be a good channel to this end.

Some 180 Chinese companies are displaying their products at over 250 booths at the Spring Fair, the biggest presence China has ever had at the event.
Sun Jiwen is deputy director of the Foreign Trade Department of China's Ministry of Commerce.

"The booths' locations this year are the best compared with what we've had over the previous six years. Another highlight is that we have (high-profile) features exhibitors this time."

Thousands of buyers from over 90 countries and regions are expected to be attending the five-day trade fair that ends Thursday.

Tu Yun, CRI news, Birmingham.