Still China’s Olympics?

From the firework show at the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games to the man-made turf of the hockey field， from the uniforms of the U.S. and British athletes to the computer equipment， from licensed Olympic merchandises to various Olympic souvenirs， products made in China were everywhere at the London Olympics.

It is really hard to avoid talking about “Made-in-China” when we look at the London Olympics. China pro- duces 23 out of 128 types of athletic costumes， 5 out of 7 towels and bedding articles. Also， about 65% of the licensed Olympic merchandises， which were estimated to bring 1 billion pound income and 86 million pound profits to the UK， was manufactured in China， including 19 types of cups， 11 kinds of toy autos， 190 types of pins， 23 types of costumes， 4 types of plush mascots， and 18 types of badges， wristlet， and wrist strap. Some athletic equipment was also provided by Chinese suppliers.

Even Danny Boyle， director of London Olympics Opening Ceremony， said that the opening ceremony would be impossible without the help from Chinese companies.

Made-in-China: Building up better reputation

Luo Zhongwei， researcher of the industrial and economic research institute of China’s Academy of Social Science， also said that as more Chinese products appear on the Olympic stage， it indicates more the non-price advantages of these products. Luo further pointed out that as a big manufacturing country after 3 decades of development， China has ranked first in the world in terms of manufacturing and export of industrial products， which is a huge achievement.

London Olympics is the very epitome of position of “made-in-China” in the world industrial distribution. “‘Made in China’ has been an indispensable part of the globalized world economy， there is no denying it，” said Xiao Yaofei， deputy chief of Research Center for International Trade and Economics under Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

Li Zuojun， deputy director of resource and environmental policy research institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council， also said that many Olympic products don’t need high-level technologies， and “made- in-China” products have both advantages in price and quality. Low price and good quality have won the world acclaim.

Yes products， No brands

But one thing noteworthy is that most of these products are manufactured by OEM factories， with slim profits going to the pockets of Chinese factories. Some people claim that “made in China”has occupied London， or even the whole world， but how many Chinese brands do you remember?

It is reported that 75% of the fireworks for the London Olympics came from producers in Liuyang， Hunan Province， hometown of fireworks in China. An insider said that the price of more than 1900 fireworks products was not high. “Our profits are very low from the order valuing 600，000 dollars.” He also said that Liuyang companies only manufactured fireworks， but were excluded from the design and display of the fireworks. “It is just like buying components and piecing them together，” he said.

“Made-in-China seems still representing low price and poor quality of those copycat products， which is really disheartening，” said Li Kailuo， research experts of China’s fashion industry.

“So far Chinese companies have not completely shaken off the reputation of low price and poor quality”. Zhang Qing， president of Key Sports Marketing said.“From this perspective， Chinese companies have been widely involved into the London Olympics， but still stay at the low end of the industrial chain. They are still in a weak position compared with European and U.S. companies with high level of technologies. To turn ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’， it still needs 10 to 20 years，” he added.

“It reminds us that Chinese companies should well make use of the London Olympics to expand their business and market presence in the world， and promote their industrial upgrading， not just taking the event as a quick marketing or an once-in-a-while business.” said Hu Jinming， brand strategy expert.