The Reasons Why American Politicians Fear China

Published in DW News
(China) on 4 May 2013
by Rong Quantang (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Elizabeth Cao. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
Living in the United States, one often sees media reports about the issue of the “China threat,” in regard to China’s textile exports and oil imports. Seeing these reports so often makes me wonder: What is it about China that scares American politicians so much?

I recently went back to China; after seeing and hearing the things going on there, I am beginning to understand why. In Guangzhou, I made my way to an electronics store because I needed a small DVD player. There was one that particularly attracted my attention; you could watch TV on it, use it to go on a computer, download MP3s and even connect to a GPS system for your car. With this many functions, it only sold for 2000 yuan. Because of standards and warranty issues, I decided to wait and buy one in the United States since I figured that the United States would have the same player for about the same price.

Thinking over recent years, the proportion of U.S. imports of electrical appliances — especially refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions, digital cameras, computers, etc. — that are a product of mainland China is increasingly high. Not only that, the quality is just getting better and better, and the price is getting lower and lower. But thinking about the discussion of imports of goods due to mainland restrictions in the politics of the United States, I suddenly understand that the United States is in fact not afraid of Chinese products, but afraid of the ferocious momentum of development in this continent.

On our recent trip to Beijing, I stayed in an aunt’s home. Because she was too busy with work, she basically had no time to go to the grocery store and instead would just call a local market, telling them things like, “I need eight eggs” or “We don’t have any more filtered water at home, I want a jug of water,” and would get them delivered to her home. There was no need to tip and there was no extra charge. It was the same in Guangzhou. When there wasn’t any time to go out to eat, making a phone call to a restaurant for an order was the same price as eating in at the same restaurant.

These kinds of services in China are very common but in the United States, it is considered a luxury; there is not only a delivery fee, but also an additional tip, adding up to a total that may be half the price of the goods bought. Even worse, many shops and supermarkets in the United States do not even provide home delivery because the fee is so high and many people cannot afford it.

I’d like to think that the United States is not the only such country in the DVD player example. In the China that has become famous for being the “world’s factory,” not only is quality improving by leaps and bounds in the production process, the grade of products is also improving. When I first came to the United States 10 years ago, eating utensils made in China could, at best, only be sold as goods of average quality. Now, there are many name brand utensils sold in stores; the price is even lower than they were back then.

Who knew that returning to the United States, after circling the major electronic stores and looking through all the different types of machines, including American brands manufactured in China, there would not be a single DVD player that was multifunctional like the one I saw in China. This made me wonder: If one of those products was sold in the United States at a price slightly lower than other similar ones here, wouldn’t these mainland Chinese imports completely dominate the market here?

When I went back to China this time, I definitely saw a great improvement in terms of the service I received. The waiter service in restaurants was basically on par with that of other countries; the salespeople in large department stores were very knowledgeable in their service and goods. In Beijing and Guangzhou, one can book and make travel plans online, have someone deliver the tickets to your door and even buy these tickets at a local store near one’s home. It’s very convenient and prior to going to major tourist attractions, it is extremely easy to find tour guides. Looking for a place to eat? There are hotels everywhere. Sit down with a waiter and in a short while hot food will be on the table.

In the United States, besides joining a tour group, if you want to go out and travel, everything can be done online, from booking travel tickets to car rentals to looking up maps for travel routes. Although it’s very convenient, it’s a luxury to be able to indulge in the same kind of intimacy and company found in China and finding a tour guide at points of interests is incredibly difficult; one can only look at maps in order to find attractions and understand the history behind them. It is basically impossible to find attractions that are personally interesting unless one does extensive research beforehand.

As for eating, restaurants in major tourist areas are not only expensive, but almost always overcrowded; at dinnertime, it can be difficult to even find a seat in the restaurant to sit down and eat. Unless one wants to eat cheap junk food, one better expect to patiently wait in line for a table. If this seems unbelievable, one only has to look to the restaurant inside Disneyland in Los Angeles during peak dinnertime. Half an hour to wait for a table is considered lucky but at times, it would not be surprising to have to wait an hour to eat something.

In all fairness, the personnel service in the United States is not of low quality but because wages are high, many large companies cannot hire more people to provide the same kinds of exemplary service. Many services have been handed over to machines or the Internet to complete, but there are things that sometimes a machine cannot even do, like greet customers.

The sad thing is, according to statistics, 70 percent of Americans still travel only within the United States and 80 percent of the newspapers are about U.S. news, perpetuating this notion in the United States that although its system is not perfect, it is the best in the world. It is not indifferent or ignorant to changes in the world, but just lacking in understanding. However, one cannot help but wonder what a clearer American understanding of the Chinese mainland would do to change the hearts of Americans. I think that at least a few of them will feel scared.


生活在美国,常常可以在新闻媒介中看到有关“中国威胁”的论调,比如大陆的纺织品出口,比如大陆的石油进口,等等,我常常在想,到底美国政客们的内心深处,对大陆的畏惧是什么?
最近回了次国,所见所闻,对美国人内心真正的畏惧,开始有了点了解。在广州,因为我需要一个小型的DVD播放机,到各大电器卖场走了走。有一种特别吸引我的注意,这种播放机还可以直接收电视、接计算机、下载MP3,甚至可以连接汽车卫星导航系统,这么多功能,才卖2000多元人民币。因为有制式和保修的问题,按照常理判断,美国应该也有同样的播放机出售,价钱应该差不多,因此我决定回到美国再买。
联想到近年来美国进口的电器中,尤其是冰箱、空调、电视机、数码相机、计算机等等,大陆产的比例越来越高,质量越来越好,价钱越来越低,再联想到美国的一些政客在嚷嚷要对大陆的商品进口设限,我忽然明白了一点,其实美国不是害怕大陆的某种产品,而是害怕大陆在这方面尤其是工艺发展的凶猛势头。
我们这次到北京旅游,住在小姨家里,因为工作忙,她基本上是不到超市买菜的,隔三岔五打个电话:“我要八个鸡蛋”,或者“我家的过滤水没了,我要一罐水”,于是就有人送上门来,不需小费,也不需额外收费。我在广州也一样,没时间出去吃饭时就打个电话叫餐,送上门的价钱和在饭店买一样。
这种服务在大陆司空见惯,在美国可是奢侈中的奢侈,送上门来,不但连送费,而且要加小费,最后加起来的价钱可能是商品价的一倍半甚至两倍,更糟糕的是,美国的许多商店和超市是不提供送货上门的,因为他们工资太高,雇不起这么多人。
DVD播放机这个例子,我想在美国并不是特例,以“世界工厂”出名的大陆,其实在生产过程中,不但质量在突飞猛进,产品档次也在不断提高,我十多年前来美国时,大陆产的食具,最多只能当一般日用品来卖,现在许多名牌食具已经在专卖店中出售,而价钱却降低了一半以上。
谁知道回美国,到各大电器卖场转了一圈,找遍了所有型号的机子,包括打美国牌子从大陆进口的,没有一款是多功能的,我在想,如果在大陆卖的播放机能进口美国,价格再降一点,还不把这里的市场冲垮吗?
我这次回国,深感服务质量比过去大有提高,饭店里服务员的服务基本上到位,大部分商店里售货员对自己负责的商品了如指掌。在北京和广州,出门旅游可以在网上订票,可以有人送票上门,也可以在自家附近的售票点买票,方便得很,各大旅游景点前可以很方便地查找导游。要找吃的吗?随处都有饭店,坐下来和服务员聊聊,一会儿热腾腾的饭菜就上来了。
想起在美国旅游,除了参加旅行团外,如果要自己玩,从订票到租车,到查旅游路线图等等,都可以自助式在网上完成,方便是方便,要享受处处“有人,有人情味,有亲切感”的服务,无疑是一大奢侈,到了景点要找个导游更是难上加难,只能看着景点的路线图自己查找,要了解景点的历史,或者知道哪里是自己最喜欢的地方,基本上是不可能的,除非你事先查过有关数据。
至于吃的,美国各大旅游点的餐厅不但贵,而且几乎都是人满为患,吃饭时间,在餐厅内能查找个位子坐下来吃饱已经是谢天谢地,想便宜点吃速食,只能跟着长蛇阵式的队伍,耐心排吧。如果有人不信,不妨到洛杉矶迪斯尼乐园内的餐厅看看,吃饭高峰时间,半个小时能买到算你运气,有名气点的餐厅,排队一个小时吃上东西一点也不希奇。
平心而论,全局而言,美国的服务业人员,质量不低,但由于工资太高,许多大公司都不可能雇用更多的人来进行人对人式的服务,许多服务项目只能交给机器或者互联网来完成,但有时候,即使短短的一声问候,可以让人如沐春风,这是机器永远不可能做到的。
悲哀的是,据统计,70%的美国人出门旅游还是在自己的国家内,报纸上80%左右的是美国当地新闻,因此当前大部分美国人仍然沉醉在“我们系统不是最完善的,但是世界上最好的”这样一种感受中。对于世界的变化,不说漠然无知,也是知之甚少的。然而,清楚了解大陆近几年变化的美国人,内心会有什么样的想法?我想,至少有一部分人,是心生畏惧的。
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