简体中文
While Australian products in China are known for being "clean and green," a growing number of Chinese companies are heading Down Under to try their luck in the Australian marketplace.
Several Chinese technology, white good and food companies have descended into the Australian market in recent times.
Justin Steele, founder of consultancy firm China Ready Now, told Xinhua recently that many Australians enjoy Chinese brands and products that they don't even know are made in China.
"Whitegoods brands like Haier. They make washing machines, dryers and fridges," Steele said.
"Lenovo is a Chinese brand of laptop which Australians might have at home or work."
He noted that technology company Huawei has targeted several foreign markets, advertising their smart phones and watches.
Technology company Huawei
Technology
Australian technology commentator Trevor Long told Xinhua that Chinese technology companies are having a big, but slow effect on the Australian market.
"It reminds me of the (South) Korean car industry from 25 years ago, it was a very slow start for people to build trust with new brands," Long said.
"Australians are very loyal to brands that they know and use."
Long noted that the Australian market was saturated by marketing and advertising by brands such as Apple and Samsung, which made it difficult for Chinese brands to compete.
He said one of the challenges Chinese brands must overcome is their name.
"People look at that (Chinese company names), and think how do you pronounce it? That's why we need familiarity to grow the user base," Long explained.
Automotive Industry
Chris Miller from car website behindthewheel.com.au told Xinhua that Chinese car brands were also slowly making an impact on the Australian automotive market.
"It has been a little bit of a slow start due to the regulatory obligations of some states in Australia," Miller said.
He noted Chinese car brand Great Wall as making some inroads in the commercial car sector.
"Their vans and utes are selling strongly again due to the great value proposition they offer."
Chinese car brand Great Wall
Miller also noted the transformation that Chinese automotive company Geely has had on Swedish carmaker Volvo since 2010, when it acquired the company from Ford.
"With the Chinese investment in research and development they' ve come out with some cutting edge, world class technology," Miller explained.
"They're not only having an impact now in Australia, but across the world."
He said Chinese car brands were not far off from becoming household names in Australia, just like Japanese car brand Toyota.
"I would suggest with the aggressive marketing push and the big investment they've got from the Chinese companies behind them, it will possibly happen a little quicker for the Chinese brands than both the Japanese and (South) Korean brands."
Chinese Food
Chinese food is one of the greatest exports to come out of China.
In Australia's two largest supermarkets, Woolworths and Coles, an aisle dedicated to Asian groceries can be found in nearly every store.
Products from China popular with shoppers include Pearl River Bridge's range of soy sauces and Lao Gan Ma's Hot Chilli Oil.
Lao Gan Ma's Hot Chilli Oil
Notable Australian-Chinese chef Elizabeth Chong told Xinhua that Chinese food was appealing to Australians because it had an earthiness or a sensuality about it that just suited the Australian palate.
"It's hard for me to imagine that it has never been here in a way," Chong said.
"In the early days, Chinese food blew the Australians away with its flavors. Australians had been raised on stodgy British food, which is pretty much flour based. It was just food more or less to fill the stomach."
When it came to popular Chinese staples in Australian kitchens there were a number of standout items.
"I think woks and chopsticks have become a part of the Australian kitchen," Chong said.
"Certainly soy sauce and maybe oyster sauce would be the staples."
Chong, who has run a cooking school for 55 years, noted the humble stir-fry as the dish her students most wanted to learn.
"They think that if they have a wok they just have to put everything in and move it around but that's not the answer," Chong said.
"There's quite a lot of skill in bringing out a good stir fry dish and it has got to do with crucial timing and crucial heat and there's a skill in that."
(APD)
