In statement marking event, premier urges country to focus on market needs

Chinese brands are pumping vitality into the national economy and are\r\n building strong competitiveness, as could be seen at the 2021 China \r\nBrand Day exhibition on May 10 in Shanghai.

Meanwhile, Premier Li Keqiang has called on the country to focus on \r\nthe needs of the market, especially those of consumers, and to work on \r\ninnovation and pursue excellence as its businesses are committed to \r\nbuilding their brands.

Li made the statement in a written instruction for the May 10 event marking the fifth China Brand Day event.

He stressed the need for all localities and relevant departments to \r\nbuild brands when opening wider to the outside world and participating \r\nin international fair competition.

The premier called for improving the quality and overall \r\ncompetitiveness of the country's products and services so as to make \r\nmore Chinese brands a reliable choice for domestic and foreign markets.

Strengthening brand building and enhancing Chinese brands' influence \r\nand competitiveness are among the important measures taken to optimize \r\nsupply, expand demand, and promote high-quality development, he said.

Apart from the fixed theme of "China Brand, World Sharing", the \r\nthree-day event ending on May 12 is focused on "Dual Circulation, \r\nLeading New Consumption". Nineteen themed exhibition areas of \r\nState-owned enterprises bear witness to their significance in \r\nstabilizing economic development, promoting technological innovation, \r\nserving people's livelihoods, and going global with made-in-China \r\nproducts.

The shield tunneling machine provides a case in point.

"We have seen the creation, optimization and development of Chinese \r\nmade shield tunneling machines... (and) we will continue to work hard on\r\n building the Chinese shield tunneling machine brand and provide \r\nexperience for a high-end equipment manufacturing upgrade," Jia Lianhui,\r\n chief engineer at China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co Ltd, \r\ntold China National Radio.

Chinese automobile giant SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, which has been \r\ntransitioning into a technological enterprise, brought the latest \r\ntechnologies, including its SOA(service-oriented architecture) software \r\nplatform to China Brand Day.

Aiming to build a world-class automotive group, SAIC Motor wants to \r\ninvest 300 billion yuan ($46.8 billion) in innovations including \r\nintelligent and electric development during the 14th Five-Year Plan \r\n(2021-25) period.

Ding Shizhong, board chairman and CEO of Anta Group, said the \r\ncompetitiveness of Chinese brands going overseas no longer relies on \r\ntheir affordable prices, but on quality, value and branding.

"It's a new chapter for Chinese brands to win by value and innovations when expanding their presences globally," Ding said.

Anta, a major sportswear brand under the Anta Group, has established a\r\n sports lab to collect data nationwide for its research and development \r\nas well as to fuel its innovations. So far, Anta's lab has applied for \r\nmore than 1,800 patents.

To attract youthful, Generation Z consumers, Anta has consistently \r\nused technology to design innovative products, including sneakers with a\r\n new"3D flow system" to better support movement during sports \r\nactivities.

Although Chinese brands have been affected by the pandemic, they have\r\n continued their brand building investment to develop their business \r\noverseas. Meanwhile, top Chinese brands have seen continued growth in \r\nawareness of their brands in developed markets, according to the Top 50 \r\nKantar BrandZ Chinese Global Brand Builders 2021 ranking report issued \r\nby Google and Kantar on May 10.

Chinese brands are generally stronger in developed markets, but some \r\ncategories－including transportation apps, cars and e-commerce－are doing \r\nparticularly well in emerging markets.

According to the ranking report, the Top 10 Chinese global brand \r\nbuilders are Alibaba, ByteDance, Huawei, Xiaomi, Lenovo, OPPO, Hisense, \r\nHaier, OnePlus and Vivo.

"Over the years, we have seen that Chinese companies that have \r\ninvested in building their brands, are able to achieve sustainable, \r\nquality growth and find resilience during financially stressed times," \r\nsaid Annabel Lin, managing director of China solution specialists and \r\nAPAC international growth at Google.

"During this challenging year, those brands have managed to stay the \r\ncourse and increased their trust and relevance with consumers around the\r\n globe," Lin added.

More than 600 domestic enterprises are taking part in the event at \r\nthe Shanghai Exhibition Center, with exhibits taking up 25,000 square \r\nmeters.