Hi everyone. I am an Uni student that is studying and living in Australia. I have this question of How Australian people think of "Made in China" for a while and I searched online today. seems that the majority of Australian are very positive about Chinese people that live or work in Australia. but there is not many discussions about chinese products. It will be very appriciated If you can post your opinions about products that "Made in china" whether your are Australian or immigrant that lives in Australia.
What Do Australian People Think of "Made in China"?
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Last edited 06/02/2016 - 14:40 by 1 other user
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I have a Chinese built petrol compressor. Engine is a honda clone. For what I paid for it I would have paid 6x for a comparable brand name.
Puts out a crazy amount of pressure too!
I've lived in China. I avoid products made in China wherever possible.
I think pretty highly of Chinese manufacturing - the quality is generally whatever the market demands. I definitely don't buy the idea that designed in China stuff is always bad quality either. As time goes on and China gets more product design and engineering experience we are going to see more and more high quality chinese products that rival US/Japanese/Korean brands.
Two examples:
-Huawei: all 3 mobile carriers use huawei gear to power their network because it's high quality and good value
-Xiaomi: producing high quality phones / cameras etc.. for the price bracketThere's probably a lot more than just those as well.
I wish this idea that china makes inherently bad quality stuff would just die already. Most stuff is made in china these days from complete rubbish to the best quality around. It's kind of a bit like the myth that europeans make great quality cars when there isn't really any evidence to back up the reliability/longevity of european cars over other cars at all.
I kind of agree regarding food standards in China and not trusting chinese exports of foods but that goes for many many countries that we source our food from. Our food standards in Australia are world leading so of course when looking at other countries they are going to look bad in that regard.
Japanese make the most reliable cars. Are you rushing out to buy a Chinese made car?
I agree - I said that european cars weren't reliable (didn't say anything about japanese cars at all). Chinese cars at this stage are terrible but so were Korean cars and they are definitely improving. I think with time China could have a very decent car industry with time. Also some of the japanese car makers assemble some of their models in china these days as well.
That'ture. china got great improvements in every aspects. We have to admit that chinese could produce most of stuffs including high speed rain, jets, warships, robots, mining machines, tvs, smartphones, ect. They may have a good future. This makes me to worry about Australia, what we can do? Holden, American car, fashion brands? watches?robots?laptop? who can tell us?
We're pretty good at farming. Especially Beef / Sheep
There are also big opportunities in education (international students)
Our services sector is also pretty world class (civil engineering especially)
I also think there is huge opportunities for us in IT - there are some pretty high profile technology companies that started in Australia: Atlassian, Envato, Nitro, 99designs
You didn't say anything about Japanese cars which is my point. Everyone buys Japanese for reliability and longevity. People buy European for prestige. This is the first I'm hearing of this myth.
the way i think of home brand product
Baby Formula in made china should explain everything.
I've been to China in October 2014. I've seen a lot of local people driving mid to high spec BMWs, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagons. Not many drive Japanese cars due to Japan's persistent claim of Senkaku Islands or Diaoyutai Islands as their own. No Chinese would want to be caught driving a Japanese car as this would mean not supporting local Chinese branded cars as well as perceived as a traitor. South Korean cars Like Hyundai have filled the void. European car makers have established manufacturing plants in China, Volkswagon were the first (correct me if I'm wrong). Siemens was in China since the mid 1800's! Those cars that are made in China are sold locally and not exported. I'm sure the quality is not inferior compared to their place of origin as the local Chinese manufacturing plants uses the same manufacturing techniques as prescribed by their respective parent companies in Europe.
On the flip side no one outside of China wants to be caught driving a Chinese car.
I was in China before the Japanese island disputes and all the cars were European. It's about appearances there. Luxury brands are a big deal. BMWs badge trumps Toyota.
Everything I have purchased from China after seeing it on this website has either broken immediately, never functioned, or never arrived. Same deal with any electronic device I purchased while travelling throughout SE Asia and China/HK.
I see the higher end Chinese phones are starting to get a better reputation nowadays though (if only in Asia).My personal experience is very different.
In 2015 I bought many electronic goods from China - eBay and various non-eBay sellers. In total I spend around AU$2,000 for various items, all small inexpensive (below AU$10 per item), a single order usually below AU$100. ONE item arrived non functional, and it was replaced with the seller asking not to return the broken one, only to send a photograph via email. While I prefer not to buy from China, the items I bought are not available from other sources, or were over twice as much. Quality was never concern for me.
Made in Japan / South Korea? No worries.
Made in Taiwan? Hmm, OK!
Made in China, as in a Chinese brand? …rather not!
labour cost in China getting expensive. IMF stated the next industry power house will be Indonesia and Turkey.
expect more made in indonesia and Turkey.
makes me wonder why Australia still sending money to Indonesia
Indonesia and Turkey never come to be another China. Their people are lazy and governments are weak. If labour cost means everything then everything should made in North Korea or Affican.
IMF = International Monetary Fund
Yeah make a garment for under $2 in China, add a brand name logo and then sell for $80 plus here. And yet, there will always be those who buy thinking they've gotten themselves a bargain, after a $20 markdown.
Relative the cost of a flight to China to get the same garment for $2, a $20 markdown is a bargain!
not when there exists a thing called free postage .
One thing I have come to realise is quality is relative to price. Even the big brands manufacture in china. The more expensive products tend to implement better tech and have better quality control. The cheaper brands skip all that and rip off someone elses tech instead of own r&d.
There is also the variable of a shit month, thats when even the best brands get screwed because the slave labour decides to forget a part or the factory swaps out something in that batch for an inferior component that screws the whole product over.
There is still inconsistency
"there is a public expectation that when we buy an apartment it is going to be safe."
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/docklands-apartment-fire-h…
Chinese Australian here. In my experience my mindset has certainly shifted when it comes to electronics that are made in China. A few years ago I would never have trusted them, but seeing that they have really upped their game to follow Silicon Valley-designed and made products I think they've certainly come a long way (think Xiaomi, Tronsmart, etc).
To sum up my view (IT / Engineer - decades of industry experience)
Made in China = average cost (once cheap but not anymore) disposable products typically designed to be thrown out just after (or before) warranty expires. The key difference is where the design work was done. If its made in china designed in china expect it to be poor build quality and short lived with maybe a couple exceptions. If its designed by US Engineers or one of the expert design teams then its typically means designed to last a bit longer than the warranty and designed to be reasonably usable.
Just as Australia is primarily a raw materials supplier , china is a source of mid cost labour and nothing much more.
Note, keeping in mind this is really just averages. I can point to products designed by German engineers (so claimed by various people to be expert designers) and also built in Germany that aren't even fit for purpose yet alone quality, so really difficult to make general statements. Even big companies such as Samsung, Seagate, Sandisk tend to flip flop between quality extremes almost annually generally tending towards poorer quality as their brand recognition increases.
Made in China is like Made in South East Asia or Made in Africa
Get much for your buck but the stuff is shonky
Just like arak in Bali, cheap and plentiful, but hey…. tourists love to burn out their insides with fake alcohol so they can enjoy the local hospitals - serves a good purpose lol
I purchased a Chinese made / brand tablet - Hyundai T7s about 5 years ago, it works great, only issue i've had is software updates (which is normal for non brand name tablets)
I'd buy Chinese stuff again, do my research same as i did when i bought the tabletOoooh I drive a Hyundai. You bought a fancy-pants tablet!
I could only afford a Chinese Allwinner 10" tablet about a year ago. Great VFM.
lmao, me too, however the Tablet brand Hyundai has nothing to do with the car manufacturer
In two minds about this… I realise that China is a global superpower as far as manufacturing goes. They can build jet fighters, space satellites, cisco routers, the computers and phones you're on including $1,000 iphones, they build Mercedes Benz E classes… they can do what other countries cannot.
We all love Made in Germany products and Swiss watches but can these people build a phone? Or a TV? No. Not that they cant but they have moved beyond this.
Of course there are somethings that people say they cant build ie. hospital equipment and your alleged "dentists chairs", I reckon if you got to a chinese hospital or dentist you will find chinese equipment.
I think it comes down to prejudice and what people are willing to accept.
ie, would I buy a Chinese watch or Chinese car? No, I can afford Swiss watch and I have cars from Japan Germany and Australia.
The flip side is, would I buy an American car? No. LOL No. Not the ones they sell here. But does that make me doubt American technology. Of course not. Its just that what we're expose to doesnt make their goods attractive.
I tend to have problems trusting Chinese food or medicine or anything consumable. I would not trust their cars even though I realise they do make decent domestic Chinese cars. Even if they made world class cars in say 5 yrs time, the stigma is still there.
Would I use a Chinese laptop or phone? We have no choice. These products are clothed in a Western brand so we accept it.
If China started demanding slightly better pay and conditions for their sweatshops do you think some manufacturing would be sent elsewhere? If not, I don't know why they don't just do it. They hold a position of power. For Apple, Samsung, et al to decide it's no longer worth manufacturing in China, they'd have to move manufacturing somewhere else, set up plants and contracts etc, which would take time, and the cost will go up, leading to more expensive items and reduced demand. If China asked for more money, but not so much more than it would be cheaper to go elsewhere, everyone else would have to pay up.
It is obvious that the response to Made In China can vary greatly, also the comments in posts and forums often attract those who enjoy blood sports.
Some of the most expensive bags and clothing in the world are made in China, also electronics and laptop parts etc. There is a lot of leakage from factories in China, and many things purchased cheaply are not copies, but often the real thing, assumed to be copies. Buy a Prada bag at Leather City in China, and then examine the same bag model in a Prada store here, and tell me what is different. A lot of China made clothing has made in USA or elsewhere labels, there are even children's labels "made in Australia" that can be purchased very cheaply in Beijing. The more expensive items from China tend to be top quality. I am also old enough to remember when Made in Japan was a real turnoff, but those days have long past. I would like to remind the more obvious racists that the Chinese invented plumbing before the Romans did, paper, umbrellas, gun powder and guns, cross bows, and many other items.I hope you are still reading this thread.
The Chinese people are largely the same as all other folk in the world. They try to cut out a living so they can support their families and retire with something. I have bought many things from China through AliExpress and have found only a few cases where there has been some skull duggery. Most are genuine individuals worthy of respect. It seems that only when greedy business tycoons get involved that problems occur. I am of Italian descent, first generation Australian and one of my high-school friends is first generation Chinese. We have had a 49 year relationship as friends and on this level I know that they as humans are the same as us in every way. Please do not confuse corporate greed with the general normal populous of any culture. Individuals are the same as us. Chinese corporate exploitative stuff is worse however, than in Australia.Sigh
OP, why stir the pot? Everyone on here is overtly racist enough as it is.
evidence of racism? it's a fair question that has nothing to do with racism, it's about the quality of products from a certain area
China is like any other country, they can either produce some really top notch shit, or really crap stuff, all depends on the process, materials, budget etc
iPhone is made in china, well constructed from quality materials. ZTE cheapo phone made in china, poorly made, not so much. Difference? iPhone cost $1000, ZTE maybe $40. Difference? ABout $960? Both made in China. Country of manufacture isnt really relevant.
However there are many China only type products ie… small tablets and other electronics / goods
You can get some very good cheap products from China that are not made elsewhere
You are talking about named manufacturers, in this instance that isn't really relevantYep products like Mi are pretty good, I have 2 of their portable battery packs and they use good quality cells and a nice aluminium finish for a premium look/feel. Funny thing is they make knockoffs of them too which are just plain nasty…
TL;DR. I remember in the late 70s my dad talking about "Jap crap". This discussion is the same bucket. Some products made in China are shit. But most are satisfactory for their purpose.
I buy China droids as the aus mobile manufacturing base is lacking.
China for all its faults, has a few unique achievements. They have fed 1/6 of the worlds population from 4% of the world's arable land.
They are completely self sufficient in military hardware and domestic manufacturing, ie. they could import no manufactured goods and they'd be ok. They have enough domestic demand that they could point all their manufacturing to only supply themselves and they'd be ok. They manage their own space affairs without help from anyone else.
To me its a bit specious for people who have practically NO manufacturing ability to criticise a country's capabilities while at the same time ordering their stuff by the shipload.
A worthwhile documentary to watch is to see how Foxconn make iphones. An $800 iphone costs Apple $200 to make. So if you look at it like that, the Chinese can make a world class product for $200 given appropriate management. Its just that Cupertino California takes $600 profit on that phone. So who's the bad guy? Apple or Foxconn? The Chinese or Americans?
I look at the quality and price of the product and disregard the country of origin. If it benefits an Australian businessman or a Chinese one does not matter to me. I am paid minimum wage by an Australian business and the politicians are bent upon taking my pay and conditions on top of it so I do not have the relative luxury to make a lot of choices. I would trust a most of things that are made in China and I feel that they are of a great quality and unmatched value but I would be skeptical to buy made in China food just like any other Chinese would be.