The Importance of China Marketing

It is with great pleasure that we welcome the inaugural issue of the International Journal of China Marketing (IJCM). My first reaction was that there would finally be an international academic journal that specializes in marketing in China. As we all know, China’s economy during the past 30 years has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector that is a major player in the global economy. The restructuring of the Chinese economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Annual inflows of foreign direct investment rose to nearly $108 billion in 2008. In recent years, China has re-invigorated its support for leading state-owned enterprises in sectors it considers important to “economic security,” explicitly looking to foster globally competitive national champions. In the second quarter of 2010, China’s economy was valued at $1.33 trillion, ahead of the $1.28 trillion of Japan’s economy. China could become the world's largest economy as early as 2030. Today’s world economy is deeply influenced by the economy of China and tomorrow’s Chinese economy may continue to play a dominant role in the world economy. Recently I read a book by Karl Gerth, As China Goes, So Goes the World. In the book, Karl Gerth provides valuable information and insights about consumer choices and behavior in China and their implications to Chinese and Western businesses operating in China. While the Western world have become increasingly worried about China’s competition for jobs in the manufacturing industry and energy resources, they have failed to notice an even more serious fact: China’s rapid development of the American-style consumer culture, which is revolutionizing the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese, will have the potential to reshape the world. It is reasonable to say that marketing in China will create unlimited challenges but also opportunities to the world marketers. As China goes, so goes the world. The recent global economic downturn reduced foreign demand for Chinese exports for the first time in many years. The Chinese government will continue reforming the economy but emphasize the need to increase domestic consumption in order to make China less dependent on foreign exports for GDP growth in the future. We now have a single market large enough to study in itself such as European and US markets. The Chinese market would need more marketing research scholars to help them market their products and service both domestically and internationally.