Evacuating Barcelona, Chinatown, Globalization, The Survival Of Overseas Chinese Businessmen

Recently, with the withdrawal of a large number of Chinese businessmen, the Eixample area, known as the "Chinatown" in Barcelona, Spain, gradually restored to the past cold and cheerless, and also fell into a state of gradual decline.

The sad song of Chinese businessmen in Spain has raised a serious question: where is the survival rule of overseas Chinese businessmen in the era of globalization?

Barcelona's new deal has made Chinese business difficult. Recently, the Barcelona government issued a decree that no new wholesale shop for Chinese people will be allowed in the Eixample area.

According to the decree, only those shops that are very few in this area, such as barber shops, meat shops, etc., are likely to get government approval to open new stores.

In addition, the government has implemented a strict loading and unloading system and a garbage dumping system in this area.

A lot of obstacles have made the Chinese businessmen who are so strong here feel unprecedented pressure, and all business development is difficult.

The decree of the Barcelona government has been brewing for some time. It has been reported that before the new Chinatown was being formed in the area, only more than 600 Chinese shops were opened. The original shops such as bakeries, butchers, flower shops, and pubs and so on, which facilitate the lives of local residents, were gradually being bought by Chinese people and became a wholesale clothing store, which completely destroyed the quiet and clean living environment.

This caused a lot of Spanish people's resentment, and then the residents of the area spontaneously set up a non-governmental organization aimed at "driving away Chinese shops". The head of the organization said they hoped the government could continue the order so that local residents could have a clean and tidy living environment again.

The voice of the people aroused the attention of the Barcelona government, and the law came into being.

Today, more than 10% of Chinese businessmen have moved out of the area, and many other Chinese shops are now closed.

And shops with "sell out" or "rent" brands on the doorway can be seen everywhere.

The consequence of the withdrawal of Chinese businessmen is that the government's tax revenue has been greatly reduced. At the same time, those landlords with street shops can get generous rental returns from the Chinese people. However, as Chinese businessmen have completely despaired of this area, how to find the Underwriters and get the high rent Nintaus has become a headache for them.

In addition, after the withdrawal of Chinese people, the local housing prices also fell, and life also brought a lot of inconvenience.

"The evacuation of Chinese businessmen has produced a great impact on the local economy and life, and to some extent is a result of double lose."

A local government official said.

Indeed, but if local Chinese businessmen can change some of the hidden rules of overseas survival as early as possible, there will be no such result.

Undoubtedly, the overwhelming majority of overseas Chinese businessmen are law-abiding and industrious with Chinese unique perseverance and wisdom. They not only win many foreign currencies, but also bring great convenience and promotion to the local economic development.

However, industry experts say that a small number of Chinese businessmen have followed the bad practices in China, which has cast a shadow over the reputation of overseas Chinese businessmen.

The first is to occupy the market at a low price.

Earlier, in the Chinese shoe city of Elche, a small town in eastern Spain, a truck carrying Wenzhou shoes and a Wenzhou shoe store were burned by about 400 unidentified Spaniards, resulting in an economic loss of about 8 million yuan.

Six days later, another round of demonstrations against Chinese businessmen broke out.

The reason why the demonstrations were aimed at Chinese people is that the main advantage of Wenzhou shoes is the price, which has caused tremendous competition pressure to the local shoe industry.

According to the person concerned, the average price of European shoes is 3 to 8 times that of Wenzhou shoes. It can be said that the great difference between prices is the unbearable pain of European shoes, and this pain point is difficult to cure for a long time.

The influx of cheap Chinese shoes has a strong impact on the footwear industry in Elche.

Some of the smaller and less skilled shoe factories have failed because of lack of competitiveness.

Over the past 30 years, the unemployment rate of shoemaker workers has increased by 30%.

The conflict of interests is the root cause of these events. "Consumers benefit from cheap trade, but the interests of local shoe traders are damaged. This is actually a product of the accumulation and intensification of contradictions between Chinese businessmen and local businessmen in Spain."

Fudan University professor Yin Xiangshuo explained.

In particular, after the EU lifted the quota of some footwear products imported from China, Wenzhou shoes gained broader market space in Europe. But at the same time, the sharp contradiction between Wenzhou shoes and European shoes has also been upgraded again.

Wenzhou shoes are only a microcosm. At present, China's entry into the international market has made great contributions to the prosperity of the global economy. However, in the western world, there are many people who feel "made in China", but few people admire it.

Because the biggest advantage of "made in China" is low price, and the low price is not from technological innovation, mainly because of its cheap labor force and environmental damage.

In terms of environmental protection, the financial times has counted an account. If China's factories implement environmental protection measures according to international standards, the competitiveness of China's economy will be lost.

Cheap labor also often causes foreign losers to blame China's labor rights protection. In fact, this is also a big weakness in China's manufacturing industry.

Two, we do not attach importance to intellectual property rights.

Chinese made products infringe on the intellectual property rights of other countries' products. The example of shoes and clothing in Wenzhou is that foreign manufacturers have worked hard to design a new style, and Wenzhou can fake it in second days.

Some overseas manufacturers, from the cost of product design to brand promotion, often cost far more than the cost of the product itself, and the price of the product is cheaper than that of the genuine product because there is no cost of the designer and royalty, but this undoubtedly makes the interests of the people who really spend the effort to design suffer losses.

Three, vicious competition is serious.

In the process of Chinese products going to the world, vicious competition is serious. They are not only vicious competition with domestic businessmen, but also vicious competition with local businessmen, sometimes competing for low price bidding, and even at a loss for vicious competition.

For example, many businessmen do not aim at establishing a brand and making long-term profits. Instead, they take a shot for another place. The market is squeezed out, and the goods are sold almost everywhere.

As a result, although the product sold in the process of eliminating the cost of brand promotion, but also to the local normal business market caused great impact.

Four, the accumulation of ethnic contradictions and cultural differences in history may also lead to the unfriendly treatment of overseas Chinese businessmen, which is mainly manifested in the differences between Chinese and local residents, such as living habits, eating habits and conversation.

In addition, because many Chinese businessmen went abroad with the "gold rush dream", their sole goal overseas is to earn more money. After having a certain economic foundation, they did not take into account the fact that "they are taken from the people and return to the people". Instead, they invest large sums of money in personal enjoyment and even casinos. Naturally, it is easy to attract some local people's attention and hatred.

In recent years, the wealth that Chinese people have gained through their personal efforts is quite striking overseas, especially when the society is in turmoil.

In Venezuela, since the 90s of last century, due to the deterioration of the public security situation in the economic recession, in such a social environment, Chinese groups inevitably become victims of illegal and criminal phenomena.

Starting from the 1989 incident of the first rob of Chinese shops, Chinese almost every time become victims of various looting or unrest incidents.

The post WTO era: the opportunities and challenges of Chinese businessmen have entered China for several years. China's economy has been following the development of world economic integration, becoming closer and closer to the rest of the world, and becoming increasingly internationalized, capital market globalization and trade liberalization.

China's economy has not only increased its external dependence on commodity markets, but also has become more closely related to capital, technology and labor services. Participation in international division of labor has become an important factor in the rapid development of China's economy.

In the tide of globalization, more and more businessmen will go out of the country and gallop outside the business world.

In the past two or three years, such incidents as "blocking merchants", "burning shoes" and "restricting China" can be seen as the result of conflicts between different groups of interests under economic globalization.

On the one hand, globalization has promoted global economic development and scientific and technological progress. On the other hand, it has also broken the last barrier of trade protection in all countries, and has made some vulnerable industries in some countries face the cruel competition of life and death.

Globalization can achieve the goal of increasing the efficiency of resource utilization through the allocation of resources on a global scale; however, the cruel competition mode under globalization will also have a devastating impact on the livelihoods of some groups. This inequality is easy to generate hatred, and at the same time, it is manifested in the form of violent attack.

For example, in Elche, Spain, the competitive advantage (price, quality and operation mode) of "Chinese shoes" has destroyed many local enterprises. In the end, few of them have resorted to violence. This reflects local people's resistance to globalization, and Chinese businessmen have become victims of this kind of struggle.

Hao Shiyuan, director of the overseas Chinese Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has his own views on the increasingly prominent overseas risks of Chinese citizens over the past 20 years. He said: "this is related to the development of China's social economy, and is also the result of globalization itself."

But globalization is, after all, a trend that no one can stop. Chinese businessmen only have to face difficulties and meet challenges, and constantly adjust themselves in order to remain invincible.

For overseas Chinese businessmen, it is a must to change their management concepts, take the road of brand and improve the technological and cultural content of products.

Chinese businessmen should change the impression that Chinese products are low-grade and poor brand recognition in the eyes of foreigners.

Chinese businessmen should also strengthen their solidarity. In this regard, associations such as chambers of Commerce, guilds, fellow townsmen associations and clan associations will play a great role in protecting Chinese people, especially those with strong funds and representing the interests of the industrial and commercial circles.

They set up an outreach department to communicate with local governments or organizations and safeguard their own interests.

At the same time, when there are contradictions between Chinese and overseas Chinese, they can also be mediated through these associations.

At the same time, experts suggest that in the context of globalization, in the process of China from a trading power to a trading power, it is also important to give full play to the role of trade associations and actively communicate with local trade associations and chambers of Commerce.

In addition, the Chinese government also plays an important role in helping overseas Chinese businessmen to meet the challenges of globalization and achieve win-win results.

This is not only reflected in economic interests, but also in terms of safety protection.

The Chinese government and foreign affairs departments have always been highly responsible for their own citizens in handling related incidents of overseas Chinese businessmen being infringed. They played a key role in negotiating related matters, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of their compatriots and properly handling their affairs.

At the same time, while speeding up negotiations with the countries concerned and striving for more bilateral judicial cooperation, China has speeded up the pace of ratification of relevant international treaties and conventions, and made use of some of the judicial assistance clauses in multilateral treaties to safeguard the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese overseas personnel.

In addition, some Chinese businessmen, even though they have acquired the nationality of the host country overseas, have never had the sense of "master", and have not really integrated into the local society. They are not too concerned about politics and have neglected their due political status.

In the long run, the final result is that the political status of the Chinese can not be improved, and Chinese groups are free from the mainstream society. It is very difficult for them to speak for themselves and the next generation in their host countries.

In view of this situation, experts suggest that Chinese should actively participate in politics, organize Chinese political parties to fight for civil rights, strive to enjoy equal rights and obligations with local people, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese people.

On this point, Jews in America are our good example.

At the same time, while actively developing overseas markets, Chinese businessmen should eliminate extravagance and waste, luxury and comparison, extravagance, and show off bad habits of wealth. They should strive to integrate into local society and culture, carry forward the virtues of Chinese thrift and establish a good image.

The Chinese should treat the local residents equally, especially the lower level aborigines, such as workers, staff, drivers and nannies, etc., and learn from the local residents with an open mind, respecting the traditional customs and religious beliefs of the aborigines, carrying out charitable welfare services, giving donations to the poor areas, and doing good deeds and benefiting one side.