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China expects that, by 2035, producing good-quality products will be seen as one of the nation’s cultural values. Image: Shutterstock

‘Made in China’ is not enough, Beijing says, vowing ‘substantial improvement’ in quality of goods

  • New State Council directive lays groundwork for a ‘technological revolution’ with a deep industrial transformation
  • Guidelines come as the West has ramped up its containment measures against China, giving new impetus to Beijing’s long-stressed goal of making Chinese brands world-class

China has rolled out comprehensive guidelines to build itself into a world power of quality products and services, in its latest bid to cement its footing in the global supply chain.

The world’s second-largest economy is aiming to become a leader in high-value goods as it shifts focus towards quality of growth in a new era of “technological revolution and deepening industrial transformation” across the globe, according to a directive issued by the State Council on Monday.

The broad but vaguely worded plan says the country aspires to see “substantial improvement” in the quality of what it produces, and in the influence of Chinese brands, by 2025.

And by 2035, good quality should be seen as a cultural value in China, it said.

Conceding that overall quality levels “still lag behind economic and social development”, the State Council said China “must base its growth on the improvement of quality and efficiency”.

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Therefore, changes are in order – “from made-in-China to made-by-China, from Chinese speed to Chinese quality, and from Chinese products to Chinese brands”.

Chinese leadership and prominent economists have repeatedly stressed in recent years the importance of redefining China as a high-end manufacturing power in the face of growing economic and tech containment from the US and its allies.

President Xi Jinping first brought up the notion of building China into a “quality power” in his report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party in 2017.

China must stick to the principle of “quality-first and efficiency-oriented”, he said.

In its new plan, Beijing also vowed to strengthen international cooperation to eradicate preconceived notions of its goods being of inferior quality.

It will “actively engage” in the making of trade policies and standards, while also building cross-border mechanisms to resolve consumer disputes, according to the directive.

“High-quality” growth was deemed a priority in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan – a comprehensive blueprint mapping out the country’s political and socio-economic development from 2021-25.

In the hope of changing how international consumers see its exports, China has also enacted stricter laws and regulations on manufacturing, and has launched a nationwide campaign to get businesses to comply.

About 27,000 companies from 175 cities have so far taken part in the campaign to boost quality, according to China Quality Daily, a news publication under China’s top market regulator.

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Professor Zhang Jun, with Fudan University’s School of Economics, noted that while it’s hard to gauge improvements in quality, this tends to naturally occur as a result of economic growth, rather than administrative orders.

“From the perspective of businesses, it is unlikely that they will deem quality to be their top goal. Instead, it will still be quantity. But as competition grows, the quality of their products will keep increasing,” he said. “We’ve seen this trend in many areas over 40 years of economic growth.”

Despite China’s huge overall domestic production, the ultimate driving force for higher-quality goods lies in the average income of its own people, he said.

“In terms of human resources, the level of education, the quality of talent, and the ability to innovate, we’re just a middle-income country,” Zhang explained. “So, there’s still a long, long way to go.”

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