【Text/Observer Network Zhou Yi】
The U.S. Congress dances the sword, pointing at Chinese e-commerce.
A few days ago, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) under the U.S. Congress released an analyst report, claiming that cross-border e-commerce platforms Shein, Temu and other Chinese e-commerce companies have problems such as data security, procurement violations and infringement of intellectual property rights. The report also "recommends" that the U.S. government should remain vigilant against Chinese companies being given an "unfair advantage" over U.S. companies.
On April 20, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce responded that the so-called analyst report recently released by the United States repeatedly used uncertain expressions such as "maybe", "maybe" and "seeming" without investigation and verification, and criticized Chinese e-commerce platforms by quoting unilateral statements by US companies that are not authoritative and legally valid.
"The US approach is neither professional nor responsible."
This is not the first time that market issues have been "de-marketized". In recent years, relevant US departments have repeatedly politicized economic, trade and scientific and technological issues, and many enterprises, including Chinese companies, have suffered groundless accusations and even unfair treatment. This kind of behavior that openly undermines the market order and tramples on the spirit of the market has aroused widespread concern in the international community.
The launch of e-commerce is an opportunity of the times for China's manufacturing industry, with broad space and prospects, and it is also an internal driving force for China's economic optimization. In the face of unreasonable accusations and deliberate smears, Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Temu will not bow their heads, but will only catch up with them with a more ambitious posture and become more and more courageous. China's Internet industry has now entered a deep water area of transformation, and we should be full of confidence in them.
The United States is "killing" the market spirit
Opinions are derived from facts, which is common sense and consensus among people around the world. The absurdity is that the USCC's supposedly objective, scientific and rigorous analyst report is full of "false" accusations. The accusations that seem to "lash" Chinese companies actually only damage the credibility of the US Congress itself.
For example, the document claims that "many controversial practices" have supported the rapid growth of e-commerce companies in China. One of the so-called grounds is that Chinese companies use minimum clauses to export goods worth less than $800 to the United States, avoiding tariffs and customs inspections.
The report claims that "current tariffs and tariff levels disproportionately benefit Chinese e-commerce companies." "But it should be noted that the $800 tariff exemption threshold actually existed in 2016, and there were remarks at that time that this brought great convenience to Amazon, while making a large number of Chinese merchants profitable, and now it is just fried cold rice."
So here's the problem: there are not enough cases, data and comparative studies in the report to prove that under the current conditions, Chinese companies can "make disproportionate profits"; In addition, the tariff exemption policy is the same for everyone, and this report can be easily blamed today to blame Temu and Shein from China, so will it be the same to blame any company in China or even other countries tomorrow? In the business world, blame whoever you want, and where is the spirit of the rule of law?
Further, why did Temu and Shein get "special attention"? Is it because they are more sought after by local consumers than the products of American companies, so they "make a big move"? Or is it because it has Chinese genes flowing in its blood, "if you want to add sin, why have no excuses", no matter what you do, it is wrong?
Just based on a report full of uncertain expressions such as "maybe", "maybe", "seem", etc., without investigation and verification, to make groundless accusations against Chinese e-commerce companies, the United States can be described as Sima Zhao's heart, passers-by know: the investigation and research is false, and the deliberate smear is true. The eyes of the world are snowy.
Such a report containing charges cannot hide the means of the United States to "compete but come together politically." Because such things have already been staged more than once. To some extent, this is just another version of the "American trap", which will only make people more and more aware of the actions of some American politicians and the interest groups behind them.
In 2013, Pierucci, the global head of Alstom's boiler division in France, was subjected to selective enforcement by the United States. Under a series of premeditated and targeted blows, the French giant, whose business once straddled the global power energy and rail industry, was punished and forcibly dismembered, and its star business, the electrical business, was also owned by the main competitor General Electric of the United States.
Ten years later, more and more Chinese companies are active in the US market. They attach importance to compliance and legal operations, while respecting market rules and local user habits, and painstakingly use China's manufacturing capabilities, supply chain foundation and operational experience to benefit American consumers. Arguably, this is the intrinsic reason behind the "Chinese APP Leaderboard" – but even so, they are being targeted.
Behind the groundless accusations is the loss of the spirit of the US market. Such a so-called investigation report is not only objective and neutral, but also irrational and fair, which is a contempt for the demands of American consumers, a blatant trampling on the economic and trade order, and a discarding of the credibility of a major country. Shein and Temu were "named", not the sadness of the Chinese e-commerce industry, but the sadness of the American industry and society.
The greater sadness is that such behavior has become a "norm".
Last month, the U.S. Congress held a hearing to question TikTok, the "overseas version of TikTok." TikTok is spontaneously sought after by American consumers with advantages such as algorithms and content, but it has been repeatedly labeled as "affecting US national security". The hearing, which was supposed to be a platform to promote exchanges and dispel doubts, has been turned into a stage for some politicians to deliberately suppress Chinese companies.
The result was a shot in the foot, and the Capitol Hill hearing turned into an American-style trap exposé and "live broadcast." In the name of hearing, the attack was actually carried out, and the questions raised by many US congressmen made Americans themselves feel ridiculous. Among young U.S. users, the lawmakers' performance sparked ridicule, with one even saying, "I feel very embarrassed to see them express their views." ”
If we jump out of the enterprise case and look at the problem from the perspective of the phenomenon, it is not difficult to find such a situation: behind the targeted smear of Chinese enterprises, the United States is carrying out a layout, planned and targeted hunting for China.
On the one hand, the United States uses "small courtyards and high walls" to artificially destroy natural scientific and technological economic and trade exchanges and carry out a "targeted blockade" of China's science and technology industry. On the other hand, the United States uses "decoupling and breaking the chain" to manually dismember the normal global business order, and promotes unilateralism under the concept of America first and local supremacy, trying to isolate Chinese e-commerce and other industries from the US market by political means.
In essence, this is an attempt to externalize internal problems and try to hide the lack of local industrial development by smearing foreign companies.
The high walls of the small courtyard cannot trap the sea of stars of the Chinese Internet
There is a question that may be worth thinking about.
Why is the eyes of the United States eyeing Chinese e-commerce? Why "today"?
From the phenomenal level, the United States is in a hurry.
For example, data from Sensor Tower, an industry statistics agency, showed that in the first three weeks of March this year, four of the top five popular apps in the US app store by download were from China — coincidentally, Temu, Shein and TikTok, which recently received "special attention" from the US Congress, were all listed.
Judging from the phenomenon behind the phenomenon, it is the "United States" that is afraid.
China's digital transformation has entered a deep water area, getting rid of the traditional buying logic of the Chinese Internet, and is sending energy to various industries and seeking "self-revolution". The most obvious trend is e-commerce going global. It not only combines China's local manufacturing advantages and R&D capabilities, but also makes use of the Internet's overseas and localized operation capabilities. With the help of e-commerce platforms, Made in China has become a product choice that better understands and respects American consumers.
Being sought after and trusted is a matter of course.
Use the success of the enterprise to create the happiness of others; With China's progress, let the world share the dividends of development. It can be said that the success of China's APP going overseas is the inevitable result of China's modernization and global multilateralism. The "China APP Leaderboard" is a victory for Chinese enterprises, a victory for peaceful development and globalization, and a victory for the spirit of the market and the spirit of freedom.
I am afraid that this is what the "American gentlemen" in Capitol Hill, Wall Street and Silicon Valley did not expect.
The usual trick of the "American masters" is a technological blockade. But in the eyes of the United States, this move is tantamount to covering up the ears. Since April this year, Bloomberg has published several opinion articles. The article pointed out that among the top 25 global companies investing in R&D, Huawei had only one Chinese company in 2017, but by April 2023, three new companies had been added to the list - all of them were Chinese Internet companies. The article warns that trying to use technological blockade to hinder China's development may fail.
Focusing on R&D and internal strength may provide us with a direction to observe and interpret China's e-commerce and even China's Internet development engine - in the past many years, the development of traditional Chinese Internet companies has actually benefited from capital dividends, demographic dividends and poor information.
Capital from NASDAQ and other US markets has provided support for Chinese enterprises to explore the market and pursue scale; China's huge population base fundamentally gives many business models the possibility of monetizing traffic; The openness and inclusiveness of the Chinese market have made many business models in their infancy "the West does not light up and the East shines", which can be very well developed in China.
Chinese Internet companies are now bidding farewell to the traditional logic of "burning money to buy volume". In today's Chinese Internet stage, the new development engines of enterprises are digital and physical integration, technological innovation and globalization, and the initial results have emerged from "external pull" to "self-driven". The overseas expansion of China's e-commerce is the actual embodiment of this transformation.
Temu and Shein caught fire in the United States essentially because Chinese companies reused the capabilities accumulated by China's manufacturing and the Internet for decades when opening up overseas markets, and at the same time made more accurate and humane adaptations to overseas markets. The competitiveness of Chinese e-commerce companies has never come from the so-called "controversial practices" hyped in the US congressional report. This is also the consensus of the international community, including the United States.
In March this year, the Wall Street Journal of the United States published an opinion piece. The article specifically pointed out that the reason why Chinese applications have become the favorite of young people in the United States is not only the algorithm, but also the professional ability, operation mechanism and marketing experience cultivated by Chinese local enterprises in domestic competition, which is the "embroidery effort" of excellence, which supports the success of Chinese applications.
From the point of view, using a report lacking investigation and empirical evidence to name Chinese e-commerce companies is just to cover up the shortcomings of the absence of domestic enterprises. This is just the self-deception of some US politicians and the interest groups behind them, and it is not destined to last long - in front of the US and global consumers, you can smear Chinese companies for a while, but you cannot smear companies in all countries around the world at the same time, nor can you succeed in smearing Chinese companies again and again.
In the face of China's Internet self-revolution and the tide of going overseas, in the face of the market, the small courtyard wall concocted by some people in the United States is doomed to failure.
The United States goes it alone, and Chinese companies are "tough despite thousands of hardships"
"Uncle Sam" is sick, but the root of the disease has never been on the app store download list.
Here's a little-known cold fact: Historically, the United States once had a nickname: "Brother Jonathan," a disparaging term that was eventually accepted by many Americans. "Big Brother Jonathan" represents the seemingly hardworking American industrial workers. It was under their labor and creation that the United States ushered in an era of creativity and competition. Business managers and grassroots workers have also fought side by side to survive the depression.
But now, the "big brother Jonathan" is disappearing, which is not the sadness of the United States.
Some Americans, sitting on Capitol Hill and Wall Street offices, became the mighty "Uncle Sam," completely abandoning the innovative and competitive spirit of American entrepreneurs and industrial workers decades ago. On the one hand, the capital game of diversifying and transferring risks is popular inside and outside the United States, and the financial crisis that has been staged again and again cannot trigger the slightest reflection and vigilance.
In the face of the rise of non-local competitors, many people in the US political circles are full of thoughts not on how to improve competitiveness and bring better services to consumers, but use political suppression to interfere in the normal exchanges of science and technology, economy, trade and culture, in an attempt to block full free competition in the market.
In recent years, the United States has extended its hand not only to companies in emerging developing countries such as China, but also to companies in "traditional allies" such as France. Using smear attacks and even deliberate suppression to manipulate market competition will not last long. From this point of view, it is only a matter of time before the US app market is dominated by Chinese e-commerce companies.
In the face of the influx of foreign companies, China has never favored local companies and suppressed foreign companies. In the same way, Chinese companies going overseas will not pursue the so-called priority status and unfair advantage. The great success of Chinese enterprise apps is the result of their own efforts. The starting point has always been respect and respect for the legal regulations, cultural practices and local consumers of other countries.
Sorting out the reasons for the success of e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Temu in the United States, it is not difficult to find that the success of many platforms is the success of localization. China's domestic economic development allows these platforms to combine manufacturing advantages, supply chain advantages and new technologies, and deal with problems from the perspective of local consumer needs, market thinking and global perspective.
Behind this "capability export" is the "diligent internal strength" of Chinese enterprises. Bloomberg has commented that studies have shown that a company attaches importance to research and development, which may not bring corresponding returns to the company in a short period of time. But the data proves that there is a significant positive correlation between the R&D investment of these companies and the progress of the country – the harder the company works, the stronger the country becomes.
Perhaps, this is the fundamental reason why the US Congress concocted analyst reports and deliberately named Shein, Temu and other platforms.
The more anxious and frightened certain American politicians are, the more proof we are on the right path.
From the perspective of enterprises, Pinduoduo's R&D expenditure last year exceeded 10 billion yuan, and Pinduoduo is driving a mass innovation with the participation of agriculture, manufacturing and circulation industries. From the perspective of the industry, a number of Chinese Internet companies have entered the "Global R&D Leaders List", Chinese the signs of "secondary entrepreneurship", digital and real integration, and innovative exploration of the Internet.
The body is not afraid of the crooked shadow. How can a responsible enterprise, a responsible country, bow to bullying?
Temu and Shein were named and were not destined to be an isolated incident. We must be mentally prepared that the "sword dance" of the United States like a donkey and the two parties is actually intended to Chinese the development of the Internet and even the entire Chinese economy. The US congressional analyst report named Chinese e-commerce companies, which is a moment of great need for determination and unity.
China's manufacturing industry needs the sail of e-commerce going overseas. In the face of the mismatch between supply and demand in the international market, the overseas opportunities provided by Chinese e-commerce platforms can digest a large amount of domestic production capacity and turn it into an effective supply in overseas markets. This "win-win" not only provides a large number of jobs and taxes, but also enriches the consumer experience of users in the United States and other places, and even forces local companies in the United States to innovate.
On the other hand, China's Internet industry is in the adjustment stage of connecting "consumer Internet" to "industrial Internet". The scene of going overseas is an important stage for the self-renewal of Internet enterprises, which puts forward higher requirements for enterprises, which is also an opportunity to upgrade: such as how to maintain business ecological relationships, build supply chains, and enhance localization, ground promotion and maintenance capabilities...
For this big test, Chinese e-commerce companies have a lot to do.
We should maintain determination, patience and confidence.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin once said that under the guise of national security, the US side is accustomed to politicizing, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing economic, trade, and scientific and technological issues, engaging in "small courtyards and high walls," forcibly pushing "decoupling and breaking chains," and even carrying out economic coercion on allies at the expense of friends and self-enrichment.
"The real purpose of the US side is to deprive China of its right to development and safeguard its own hegemony and selfish interests, which is naked economic coercion and scientific and technological bullying, which seriously violates the principles of market economy and fair competition, seriously undermines the international economic and trade order, seriously disrupts the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain, and harms the interests of the entire world." China will pay close attention to relevant developments and resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests. ”