China tries to win over Brazilian consumers

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Here in Latin America’s economic giant, the prevailing image of China has been that of an unquenchable consumer and the manufacturer of all things cheap.

But the opening of 55 glitzy JAC Motors dealerships in Brazil, all selling sleekly designed cars built in China, has helped Chinese officials and businessmen present a different image of their country, as modern and dynamic.

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These days, JAC’s hatchbacks and sedans, which start at $24,000 and come with a six-year warranty, are outselling some better-known models in the continent’s biggest car market.

“The Brazilian image of Chinese products – it’s changing very fast,” said Sergio Habib, 52, a Brazilian businessman who has imported Jaguars and Aston Martins and now runs the JAC dealerships. “We are helping that with JAC cars.”

All over the world, China is using its powers of persuasion — through its products, its potent economy, an increasingly sophisticated diplomatic service and the appeal of its culture — to win over consumers and make it easier for Chinese companies to enter vital markets and secure raw materials.

Analysts call it soft power, and it is wielded differently in Asia, where China is trying to placate neighbors jittery about its military, than in the United States, where concerns often center on Chinese authoritarianism and unfair trade practices.

Unlike in the United States or many European countries, most people here hold a favorable view of China, according to a Pew Research Center report issued last year on Brazilian attitudes.

“A place like Brazil, or definitely other countries in Latin America, where the history of China is not so long, you have more opportunities to make a good impression,” said Joshua Kurlantzick, author of “Charm Offensive: How China’s Soft Power Is Transforming the World.”

Still, China is increasingly facing challenges as its stake in Brazil grows. Brazilian businessmen have raised concerns about China’s undervalued currency and the financing edge available to Chinese industry, which is moving to establish factories here that will cut into market share.

Chinese officials in Brazil note that the stakes are high for their country, which surpassed the United States in 2009 to become Brazil’s biggest trading partner. Chinese exports to Brazil reached nearly $26 billion last year, 19 times what China exported to this country a decade ago. China sees potential for more growth in Brazil, whose expanding middle class has reached 95 million, many of them armed with cheap credit.

In an interview, Zhu Qingqiao, the business adviser in the Chinese Embassy in Brasilia, described Brazil as a partner and detailed how China imports a wide range of Brazilian products, from soybeans to fruit to airplanes. He also spoke of Brazil’s offshore oil fields and its vast agricultural heartland, both vital to China’s fast-growing economy.

“The economies of the two countries complement each other,” Zhu said. “There is a great potential for cooperation.”

Global players

Since a 2001 Goldman Sachs report on rising economic powers grouped Brazil and China together, along with Russia and India, leaders in Beijing and Brasilia have gone to great lengths to highlight similarities between their countries.