Zoppas: 'The trade war with China is not lost, but we need to speed up'
The president of Ice, the agency for promoting and internationalising Italian companies abroad, urges companies to move now because 'the Chinese train will be coming at us' in a few years
by Lorenzo Pace
The trade challenge with China is not lost. Or at least not yet. Therefore, what Italian companies must do is 'accelerate'. The message comes from the president of Ice, Matteo Zoppas, at a time when the Asian country represents a "train that is coming at us", but which leaves us a margin of time. A time horizon between five and ten years according to the owner of the agency that deals with promoting Italian companies abroad. This is due to a question of difference in positioning and 'brand and technology awereness', i.e. the discovery and loyalty of new Oriental products, which still takes time. However, if this continues, consumers will get used to those products, also thanks to their lower costs.
President, you were among the first to highlight the problem of Chinese competition. Where are we now?
The latest export figures to non-EU countries are positive, even to America and China. I would say especially the latter. It is under everyone's eyes that the Asian country, from being a 'third-party' producer, is becoming an expert in products that compete with and in many cases displace the West. We need to understand whether the phenomenon is related and whether it is structural. What worries us is not only the reduction of Italian exports to China but their potential ability to replace our products in other markets. Let us remember that China has had access to our technology and manpower on the technical-productive side. Today they have developed the capacity for innovation, research, development and design.
Is it a war already lost?
We have to be careful because their products are good at the moment but they are not yet well known enough and the consumer experience is not yet established enough to create significant 'brand awareness'. But the product is there, so the more people try it, the more they realise that the Chinese product is good and in some cases even 30% cheaper. For the moment we are still ahead, but we must pay attention and accelerate for a phenomenon that can be consolidated at least in the next five to ten years. A progressive phenomenon.
