Plea to build 'Made in China' brand

[Photo: from VCG]

Chinese brands need to build themselves up with professional craftsmen and by preserving traditional skills through workshops and apprenticeships, Shanghai deputies to the National People's Congress say.

Zhang Zhao'an, deputy head of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and an NPC deputy, said many traditional brands were losing out with the rise of online shopping and overseas brands.

Zhang said too many companies were stuck in their old ways and were unwilling to change.

He cited the example of Chinese tea — China is a major exporter, but a great deal of high quality tea is processed overseas and then imported back to China.

And the country does not have a world famous tea brand, unfitting for the "home of tea."

He says traditional brands should bring in professional managers, craftsmen and other workers from home and abroad.

Zhang supports the idea of linking traditional brands with vocational schools and establishing workshops and schools where skilled craftsmen can hand down their skills.

He also thinks traditional skills should be protected legally and socially and special funds and awards set up.

Innovation and promotion should be encouraged to build a "Made in China" brand.

[The audio clip is from Studio+, produced by CRI] 

(News source: Shanghai Daily)