Brand China poised for global dominance

Foreign brands have long dominated the consumer market in China, but insiders believe the trend will be reversed within a few years.

Within five years Chinese brands will dominate the market, Liu Shijin, vice-chairman of China Development Research Foundation.

He was speaking at a seminar on the global impact of China's Consumer Class during the Annual Meeting of the New Champions held in Dalian on Tuesday.

China's advantages include an ever-growing middle class with an increasing purchasing capacity, as well as increasing product quality, he said.

Dai Wei, founder and chief executive officer of Ofo Bike, was even more optimistic, believing that Brand China will be capable of competing with its multinational counterparts by 2020, winning a greater share of the domestic and international markets.

"Foreign imports have traditionally been seen as better quality, but the Chinese brands are rising at an incredible rate," he said.

"It's already happening."

Dai believed concerns for the environment will also reshape how China's consumer class spends their money, and a lot of Ofo's consumers choose bike sharing for energy conservation and environmental protection reasons.

"Money saving is a big motivation, but at the same time, energy conservation is another motivation as well," he said.

"People do take actions to do things to reduce smog by taking public transportation to work."