Two of a Trade Can Agree

An old proverb goes， “two of a trade can never agree.” In my opinion， however， two people engaged in the same trade can indeed become friends， and competition between them won’t generate ill will， but instead drive innovation.

Primarily， two factors turn “two of a trade” into enemies： jealousy and competition. A narrow-minded person may feel envious of achievements that rivals make. However， I think such a behavior shortsighted. In addition， animosity may sprout between business rivals in event that one copies the other’s products or grabs his market share.

Such things happen frequently. Of course， no one should infringe on others’intellectual property， and chaotic competition can only disturb market order. These problems are likely to be solved in one of two ways： lawsuits or negotiations. Mutual condemnation and defamation between business rivals can only lead to more hostility.

I think business competitors should not become enemies， but friends. In my view， market rivals should serve as mirrors to each other and learn from each other.

For instance， international exhibitions are platforms for business rivals to display their products together， which creates a good opportunity for a manufacturer to draw inspiration through communication with rivals. The global market is too big to be occupied by any single company. As a Chinese saying goes， “every product has its own customers.” It is unlikely for clients to be interested solely in one manufacturer’s products – any similar products of good quality， rational price， and reliable service could make their purchase lists. The more options a trade fair can offer， the more clients it may attract， thus providing more opportunities for manufacturers to win orders from clients.

Huaihai Road in Shanghai is lined with countless clothing boutiques， making it a popular destination for aspiring fashionistas. However， those boutique keepers do not see each other as enemies because the street would never draw so many customers if only one vendor set up shop there.

Market competition can inspire a company to learn from its rivals and determine disadvantages of its products so it can innovate rather than staying confined to old methods. In this regard， business rivals can be friends. Without seeing the progress made by rivals， one can easily fall into arrogance and lag behind in mar- ket competition.

Market competition can also encourage social progress and technological innovation， as it especially has in the logistics machinery industry in which I engage. Due to fierce competition between manufacturers， the industry has witnessed tremendous changes in terms of product design， quality， and pricing in recent years. The firstgeneration manually-operated hydraulic transportation vehicles that our company designed and produced two decades ago have long faded away from the market.

Twenty years ago， our company became the first to introduce a new type of tensioner from the United States. At that time， no other Chinese companies produced the part. Priced at 56 yuan each， the tensioners we produced sold well in European and American markets. Then， some domestic manufacturers began to copy the product. Due to market competition， its price was almost cut in half. In this circumstance， our company began to develop new products including hydraulic transportation vehicles.

However， as soon as our company established a reputation as a major hydraulic transportation vehicle manufacturer globally， countless companies began to set foot into the field. Through price wars， they grabbed a big slice of the market pie from us. Then， our company turned to developing hi-tech products like electric forklifts and stackers. It has been market competition that forced us to shift focus from labor-intensive manufacturing to technology-centric products.

In fact， our company could have not realized today’s success without influence from competitors.