Products made in China may dominate the global trade, according to an Italian management and marketing professor.
Rome-based LUISS University Master of Science director Michele Costabile said that, despite the stigma on made-in-China products, China can use technological innovation to improve the quality of its products, China Daily reported.
The right solution to the said stigma, according to Costabile, is for China "to invest on relatively new products compared to those historically connected with other countries, hopefully tech-intensive, which can spread a positive perception on all the made-in-China products."
Costabile suggested the perception on products made in China can be enhanced through what he calls a repositioning strategy, which is focused on markets where it already has a combined strong relationship or where competition is not strong.
To achieve the goal of a "Chinese second wave" certified by technologies and innovation and a "2.0 manufacturing nation," Costabile said China should launch new brands, specifically "love brands" or brands filled with emotions and symbolism that people spend money on.
Products that are not easy to be placed on the high end of the world market must be upgraded from "low cost" to "smart value," the Italian professor added.
Meanwhile, Chinese owners are currently controlling approximately 200 Italian businesses, and the Chinese owners living in Italy are not even included in the number, La Repubblica reported.
While Italian consumers still have the stigma on made-in-China products, Italian business owners appear to be willing to work with Chinese business partners.
Italian local businesses have already aimed to establish a strong relationship with Chinese entrepreneurs even before the upcoming visit of Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang to Italy.
In line with this endeavor, publisher ClassEditori launched an online portal featuring all kinds of classified ads directed at Chinese investors to encourage Chinese investment in Italian companies.
In 2014, only the United Kingdom so far has attracted more money for acquisitions in Europe from China, Bloomberg reported.