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Fixing the bad rap: Do Chinese businesses in South-east Asia need better PR?
A public relations drive may help, but the problem of Chinese overcapacity is more than just an issue of perception.
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Chinese carmaker BYD’s Thai factory. China’s rising tide has lifted boats at a time when more developed, primarily Western nations are putting up walls to protect their economic fortresses.
PHOTO: REUTERS
An alien descending on Earth might come rapidly to the conclusion that China businesses are evil corporations vacuuming the world for resources and leaving everyone else in the cold. Especially if said alien arrived on Oct 18 and attended FutureChina Global Forum, the annual flagship conference in Singapore organised by the non-profit organisation Business China.
When a panel on regionalisation was asked how a better balance can be struck around the flood of Chinese investments into South-east Asia, the answers revolved around ways to tackle Chinese overcapacity – where production of goods and services far outstrips market demand.
