Chinese consumers are ready to boycott American products if a commercial war escalates

Most Chinese people want to stop buying American products in response to tariffs imposed by the White House on their goods last month as a result of rising trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, according to a recent survey

A recent study by FT Confidential Research revealed that 54 percent of respondents in over 300 Chinese cities would "probably" or "definitely" stop using US trademarks "in the event of a commercial war." Only 13 percent of 2,000 respondents said they were not ready to boycott US products. The other 33 percent either do not buy products originating from the United States or express uncertainty on the issue.

The study shows that Chinese, who are likely to abandon American products, generally live outside large cities, they are aged up to 29 years and generally have lower to medium income. The survey was conducted over a period of 13 days, mostly before the US decision was made on 25 percent tariffs on Chinese exports worth $ 34 billion. The step was prompted by a direct mirror response from Beijing. However, China reportedly refused to call for a boycott of US consumer products in the country.

"The Chinese authorities have done nothing similar to Japan and South Korean products in the past," said Kent Kent, Senior Partner at the Shanghai Risk Management Office. He said that fear of retaliation moved Beijing away from such a move. Last year, Chinese state-run media openly called for the rejection of goods and services from South Korea after the country allowed the US to set up its anti-missile system. South Korea suffered losses of nearly $ 7 billion, as tourists from China preferred to go to another country.

At the same time, vehicle sales in South Korea have been dramatically reduced. In 2012, the Chinese authorities launched a boycott against Japan over the territorial challenge of eight small islands in the East China Sea. On the move, sales of Japanese cars in China fell 32 percent over a period of 12 months.

• 22 Jul, 2018
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