Coronavirus: China, US consumers turn on each other’s goods as pandemic drives commercial nationalism
- Deutsche Bank survey shows 41 per cent of Americans will not buy ‘Made in China’ products again, while 35 per cent of Chinese will avoid US goods
- Trump’s election-year broadsides and China’s assertive diplomacy boost distrust between the two powers
The coronavirus pandemic is fuelling mistrust among consumers in China and the United States about each country’s products, as the momentum for a decoupling between the world’s two largest economies intensifies.
A recent survey by Deutsche Bank’s big data platform dbDIG showed 41 per cent of Americans would not buy a “Made in China” product again and 35 per cent of Chinese would avoid buying products “Made in USA”.
Even though most consumers were not ready to completely shun each other’s goods, the survey results indicate a rise in commercial nationalism and a growing distaste for globalisation, as both economies emerge from the coronavirus crisis, said Apjit Walia, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
US consumer distrust of Chinese products has been boosted by comments from American officials, particularly US President Donald Trump, who has blamed China for the pandemic and raised doubts about Beijing’s trustworthiness.
With the US election less than six months away, Trump is expected to keep China in his crosshairs to divert attention from his administration’s handling of the virus and the resulting damage done to the economy, analysts said.
