Introduction
In today’s globalized society, international business has largely expanded from the provision of quality goods and services. Increasingly, customers enjoy multiple options for sourcing products and services. Since many options for sourcing goods exist, the provision of quality products stand out as an important factor in making wise purchasing decisions for most importers.
China is one market that has a robust manufacturing industry that meets the demand of most world markets. However, many observers express their reservations regarding the quality of Chinese products (Chan 17). For example, in America, there are serious concerns regarding the quality and safety of Chinese food products (ICIS 5).
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 65% of the total product recalls in the US trace to imported products (ICIS 7). Most of these recalls are of Chinese products. The same situation replicates in Europe where the European Commission increased its surveillance of Chinese products because of quality concerns (ICIS 7).
For example, Spain recently recalled several brands of Chinese toothpastes after scientists detected that the products contained diethylene glycol (DEG) – a potentially harmful addition to the products (ICIS 7). Midler (1) says that these Chinese products are often dangerous and shoddy.
Such accusations have dominated many debates regarding the quality of Chinese imports, thereby prompting many people to believe that most Chinese products are of poor quality. However, highly influential names in the Chinese export business defend Chinese manufacturers by saying that most of them only comply with their customers’ standards.
This paper explores the regulatory basis of these arguments and the remedies that the importers may adopt to ensure they only buy quality products from China.
Regulatory Control
China has had a strong competitive edge over most of its competitors because of the perception that Chinese products are affordable. However, Chan (17) fears that this competitive edge erodes the quality of Chinese products because it is difficult to produce quality products at such low costs.
However, the low cost of Chinese products do not suffice as the only measure of product standards. Instead, the implementation of product regulations manifest as the greatest measure of product quality (Chan 17).
Indeed, China’s recent export scandals have shown that the greatest weakness facing most Chinese manufacturers stem from their failure to comply with existing quality standards.
Indeed, as ICIS (6) demonstrates, China is still an emerging economy and many of its economic, legal, and social systems have not met the needs of its expanding economy. Consequently, many observers say the inferior product quality of Chinese products stem from the inexperience of Chinese regulatory frameworks in benchmarking quality (ICIS 7).
Throughout the process of understanding the main regulatory weaknesses of China’s quality control systems, it is still crucial to say that the Chinese manufacturing industry has grown in tremendous strides. However, it is equally crucial to note that small and unregulated factories and farms are responsible for this expansion (ICIS 7).
The Chinese government has however expressed its willingness to act on the failure of such small companies to comply with quality standards, but their lack of experience, personnel, and resources undermine their efforts (ICIS 7). The limited resources and the lack of proactive government measures to implement product safety rules inhibit the production of quality Chinese products (ICIS 7).
CIF (10) says that no matter the location of a supplier, importers are always predisposed to some level of risk. This situation shows that sourcing products from China does not differ with the importation of products from any other market.
In this regard, CIF (10) says that the greatest concern for importers should stem from the confirmation that their suppliers meet their quality standards. This should be the main preoccupation of the importers because the quality of imports largely depends on the compliance to quality controls.
The Chinese government also shares similar views because it has embarked on prosecuting corrupt officials and revoking the licenses of companies that do not meet product safety standards (ICIS 7).
Relative to this expectation, a Chinese government official said, “Given China’s huge increase in exports and domestic consumption, it needs more and better-trained regulatory staff to monitor factory compliance with the law. This measure may ensure consumers have access to legitimate and high-quality products” (ICIS 7).
Comprehensively, China needs to comply with international bodies (that safeguard product quality) to ensure the qualities of their products meet internationally acceptable standards of safety.
The exaggeration and politicization of the export trade however undermines the quest to improve the export and import businesses because by sustaining China’s unremitting efforts to improve the quality of their products, the “made in china” label on Chinese products should no longer be a mark of shame, but rather, a mark of good quality (ICIS 7).
Conclusion
After weighing the findings of this paper, it is easy to establish that the quality of products in the international market mainly depends on the compliance with safety standards.
It is therefore incorrect to have a general assumption that Chinese products have an inferior quality because the compliance to safety standards mainly guarantees product quality. Therefore, importers should strive to rely on Chinese manufacturers who comply with safety standards.
Works Cited
Chan, Tsang. Consumer Behavior in Asia: Issues and Marketing Practice, London: Routledge, 1999. Print.
CIF 2012, Importing From China Possible Problems. Web. 1 April. 2013.
ICIS 2007, China Product Quality Under Spotlight. Web. 1 April. 2013.