adminSpeaking to Zimbabwean journalists at the end of a two-week training workshop here on Tuesday, the director-general in charge of training at the Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Hu Weiping, said his Government has received many complaints from Zimbabwean officials concerning the quality of some Chinese products.
He said such sentiments were tarnishing the country’s image.
A majority of Zimbabweans have tended to associate Chinese made products, popularly known as “zhing zhong” with poor quality.
The general sentiment is that the products have defects and that they do not last long.
“Our foreign friends from Africa have often mentioned this problem to us. We are aware that some people are doing that. However, this is not a true reflection of goods made in China.
“If our businesspeople do things that way they will soon go bankrupt because no one will like having business with them,” said Mr Hu.
He admitted that in the past some Chinese goods were of a low quality, but said the country has greatly improved.
Mr Hu said a majority of low quality products exported to some African countries were made by up-and-coming industrialists in Wenzhong city in China’s Zheijiang province.
In that province, said Mr Hu, a majority of people were self-employed entrepreneurs who use their skills and limited resources to copy other countries’ technology and produce their own products.
He said because of different challenges facing such people, their products tended to be of poor quality. Mr Hu said China was developing very fast adding that its products have the biggest market in the United States and Europe.
“We produce good quality products and our biggest market for textile and leather products is the US. We have tried to improve the quality of products we sell to Africa. We are also aware that when conducting trade there are many costs incurred and that the quality of a product matches the level of its price,” he said.
Mr Hu said there was a need for developing countries to unite and fight for their space in the global economy, which at the moment favours Western countries.
Meanwhile, Mr Hu said China would continue with the death penalty until such a time when conditions would permit its lifting.
“The death penalty system will not be abolished in China. We are a developing country and conditions on the ground are not suitable for its lifting. Without the death penalty it would be so difficult to run such a big country with 1,3 billion people. We are battling with criminal activities that include killing and the death penalty is still important to us. If conditions improve we will review this system,” he said.
Online Reporter