Chinese market too attractive to be overlooked, says Ruder Finn CEO

Geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties, which can be partly attributed to people's uneasiness after the pandemic, are temporary and will not impair the attractiveness of the Chinese market, whose importance and high quality cannot be overlooked, Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of multinational communications agency Ruder Finn Inc, said.

Bloomgarden said this at the 7th China International Import Expo, which was held in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10.

Impressed by the size, quality and innovation demonstrated at the expo, Bloomgarden, who was attending the CIIE for the first time, said the CIIE gives people a good sense of companies, market expectations, and the size of the Chinese market.

"Companies coming from all over the world introduce new products and innovations. But I did not expect to be this large. If we hadn't come here personally and experienced it, we would not be able to describe it," she said.

As an agency with 36 years of experiences in China, Ruder Finn provided professional communications services to about 23 multinational companies for the 7th CIIE. Bloomgarden said the Chinese market is extremely important for multinational companies, given its size and ongoing innovation.

The various innovation results introduced in China every year, which is nurtured by the rich supply of talents, makes Chinese and foreign companies more competitive and strive to be better. she said.

"I don't see MNCs would make it a lower priority," Bloomgarden said.

Multinational companies can also learn from China its digitalization experiences, she said, citing online marketing, e-commerce and livestreaming as good examples.

When consumers become hesitant at a time of economic slowdown, product quality becomes increasingly important. Therefore, continued innovation is crucial to provide true value to consumers, Bloomgarden said.