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A Lenovo logo seen behind a sculpture at the company's office in Shanghai on 15 January, 2009. (Photo: EPA)
Opinion
Patrick Boehler
Patrick Boehler

Nine out of 10 Americans can't name a single Chinese brand, says survey

Computer giant Lenovo was the best-known Chinese brand in the US, but with only 2.5 per cent of respondents able to name it.

Patrick Boehler
Patrick Boehler
Why you can trust SCMP
The vast majority - some 94 per cent - of Americans cannot name a single Chinese brand, according to an online survey conducted by a New York-based consultancy.

Lenovo, the world's second-biggest maker of personal computers, turned out to be the best-known of all Chinese brands to US consumers. However, only 2.5 per cent of 1,500 respondents could name the company which gained an international profile when it bought IBM’s PC production unit in 2005.

The computer maker is followed by Baidu, China’s equivalent to Google, named by 1.2 per cent of those surveyed and Huawei, China’s largest phone maker, named by 1.1 per cent.

More people named Japanese companies  - Toyota, Sony and Honda - than either Baidu or Huawei.

Chinese companies have not dedicated enough resources to gain visibility in the United States, HDTS, the consultancy that conducted the survey, reasoned. Many companies also preferred acquiring American companies, taking over their market share and brand recognition.

China, already the world’s second largest economy, grew 3.5 times faster than the United States last year and American consumers should take notice.

Just two months ago, China overtook the US as the world’s largest trader for the first time. By next year, China is set to surpass the US as the world’s top crude oil importer. After accounting for price differences, China will overtake the US to become the world’s largest economy by 2016, the OECD says.
In a Gallup survey last year, some 23 per cent of Americans named China as “the United States’ greatest enemy today.” Only Iran scored higher with 32 per cent, North Korea came third with 10 per cent. 
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