An online conference on "Exporting of Russian brands to China: prospects, opportunities, online promotion practices" was held.
Opening the event, Mr. Suren Vardanyan, the Vice President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted that the main purpose of the conference is to inform Russian entrepreneurs about the state of the Chinese economy. "We would like to tell about stories of successful promotion of Russian products on the Chinese markets by examples of specific cases. China is a very sophisticated country with a difficult economic market. There are a lot of events dedicated to this country now, but unfortunately, there are very few specialists, who can really provide useful and reliable information," Mr. Vardanyan said.
According to Ms. Anna Bessmertnaya, the Chairman of the Commission on Foreign Economic Cooperation with partners in China, the main advantage of China, untill recently, was its cheap labor, which influenced the price of goods. "Now, the socio-demographic and ecological situation leads to the fact that we should consider exporting our Russian goods to China", - said Ms. Bessmertnaya. At the same time, we should not be misled and think that any product may be sold in their market: China plays by its own rules and according to its own preferences and predilections.
According to Mr. Vyacheslav Serdyukov, the Deputy Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in China, in recent months, there has been a change in the structure of Russian exports: if the first place is still relegated to mineral products, the agricultural products and food products have moved to the second place. Recently, with the assistance of the Trade Mission, two companies were accredited to supply beef to China, and several other companies were accredited to supply barley to China. Now, according to the representative of the Trade Mission, it is worth paying attention not only to the Chinese regions, bordering Russia, but also to new markets. For example, Guangdong province is equal in population to Russia, and the GDP’s volume is also comparable. This is a huge market, entry to which may be a breakthrough for Russian companies. For his part, Mr. Serdyukov assured the conference participants that the Trade Mission, being a Russian government body, is ready to provide all possible support to entrepreneurs who are ready to enter Chinese markets. However, "a lot of work has to be done by the entrepreneurs themselves. We do not initiate contracts, we help to implement them," the expert stated.
Ms. Olga Bolkunova, the Director of “China Insiders” (nihao@chinainsiders.ru), presented the main marketing trends in China, noting that mobile devices are a priority in Southeast Asia. Therefore, when planning to promote products in these markets, it is necessary to provide software, designed for phones and tablets. Among the trends in promoting local brands, the speaker named Live Streaming. A huge number of organizations are engaged in monetizing promotional videos in China. At the same time, these networks are associated with marketplaces with built-in payment tools, which allow a consumer, who chose a product, to purchase it in one click. The speaker advised entrepreneurs who want to bring their food to the Chinese market, to pay attention to small cities, which began to form the middle class, which is not yet able to go abroad, and, roughly speaking, to eat a croissant in Paris, but has the opportunity to order this very croissant from an online store.
Mr. Maxim Kuznetsov, the Vice-President of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE), outlined the main drivers of export development from Russia to China. These are, first of all, the development of electronic commerce, increasing the presence of Russian companies in China, localization of their production, and increasing marketing activities. The expert recommended that before entering this market businessmen should study (at least on a basic level) the business culture of this country, as it is very different from European and American.
In addition, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate the market, and if the decision to promote a product is made, the presence of a company in China is mandatory. "China is big, it has its own consumer motivations and preferences in different provinces," Mr. Kuznetsov said.
In order to make it easier for entrepreneurs to understand the mentality of this country, the RSPP together with the Peoples' Friendship University have developed educational programs on business culture of Asian countries. In addition, RUIE is ready to assist companies entering the Chinese market in opening a representative office in China.
The President of the Russian-Chinese Analytical Center, Mr. Sergei Sanakoev, reported on the establishment of emergency contacts in the conditions of the pandemic. He told how the work was organized to deliver first our humanitarian supplies to China, and then, due to changes in the epidemiological situation, from China to Russia. "We expect the trade turnover between our countries this year to be no less than last year.
And in the coming years the aim is to bring the figure of mutual trade turnover up to $200 billion," stressed the speaker. In addition, he noted that a very rigorous attention is now being paid to the development of logistics’ ties concerning Russia and China. Soon, a number of charter railway routes will be launched, a serious role is being played by the Trans-Siberian Railway, which requires reconstruction, but "it will hold its ground and continue its viability”.
Mr. Sergei Nosov, the Director of the Department for Asia, Africa and Latin America at the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, identified several "growth points" for exports to China. These are primarily agricultural products and foodstuffs, unique goods (from mechanical engineering and IT), pharmaceuticals, etc. However, according to the representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the future lies in new forms of interaction, including industrial cooperation. The speaker considers the development of logistics and interregional cooperation to be the factors of export growth.
Exhibitions (despite the fact that many of them have been postponed due to the pandemic) as well as tourism are good tools to promote goods coming from Russia. "Chinese tourists, besides exporting our products from Russia, will learn more about our country", - said Mr. Nosov.
Several practical cases of successful promotion of products to the Chinese market, in particular, ice cream and birch juice, were presented at the conference. In addition, participants learned about the main marketing strategies to promote brands and support sales in the e-commerce using KOL (Key Opinion Leader), i.e. "Opinion Leaders".
The General Director of Iceberry China, Mr. Nikita Kuleshin, told about the experience of his company's cooperation with KOL to bring Russian ice cream to the Chinese market.
The Senior Project Manager of “Teal Dance”, Ms. Alina Smirnova, described how her company helps Russian businesses enter the Chinese market by developing mini-programs running on the WeChat platform. This platform is a messenger, the most popular in China.
"Every Chinese spends about 30 percent of their time at WeChat," the speaker said. In 2019, mini-programs of this platform generated transactions for more than 800 billion yuan. The advantages of these mini-programs are their simplicity and a small volume. At the same time, with their help, it is possible not only to sell goods, but also to provide services. For example, S7 airline, by ordering such a mini-program, was able to organize direct ticket sales for Chinese passengers.
At the end of the event, the speakers answered all questions raised by the participants.