Translation Results Requested Through Conyac Made Public
[Translation from English to Japanese ] Chinese Mobile Phones Hold a Big Chunk of East African Market, But That’s Not...
Original Texts
Chinese Mobile Phones Hold a Big Chunk of East African Market, But That’s Not a Good Thing
Just yesterday, I wrote about China’s soft-power failures from a regulatory perspective, and today there is more news about soft power failures, albeit of a kind that isn’t really the government’s fault. This excellent Caixin piece describes how Chinese shanzhai (low-cost imitation) mobile phone makers have grabbed a huge chunk of the East African mobile phone market. Chinese phones — nearly all of them counterfeit or off-brand cheap ones — now account for about 50 percent of the phones across East Africa. That might sound like a win for Chinese soft power — Africa embraces Chinese brands! — but it isn’t, because unsurprisingly, Africans aren’t any more excited about poorly-made mobile phones than Chinese people were when these same companies were peddling their wares domestically. From the Caixin article:
These low-cost, sometimes short-lived devices, have shaped the common Kenyan’s impression of “made in China” — too often for the worse. Moreover, some say Chinese wholesalers pouring cheap phones into Kenya have torn a fissure in Sino-Kenyan relations. I have long felt that Africa might be an ideal market for China’s cheap (but well-made) smartphones; most of them branded Android handsets that run between $100-$300. But it appears that by the time companies like Xiaomi can get their ducks in a row and expand into this market, shanzhai and low-quality handset may have already thoroughly poisoned the well by convincing African consumers that Chinese brands are, in the parlance of our times, cheap crap. On the other hand, the fact that shanzhai manufacturers are even peddling their wares in Africa to begin with is a sign of maturation in the Chinese mobile phone market, where just a few years ago these same terrible phones were being sold quite widely. Rocky Wang, the sales manager for “Tecno,” one off-brand handset maker doing business in Africa, told Caixin:
We pulled out of our domestic and Asian markets early and made Africa the main focus. A billion consumers [across Africa]. What a vast market! But, of course, China has more than a billion mobile phone consumers, and the rest of Asia probably has a billion more at least. The real reason Tecno and companies of its ilk have pulled out of Asia and moved into Africa is the same reason that traveling snake-oil salesmen moved from town to town: once people figure out your product is crap, the market dries up and you’re forced to move on. Chinese consumers have, in relatively short order, gone from embracing shanzhai phones for their low cost to mostly mocking them while buying respected domestic and international brands instead. The Chinese market for shanzhai phones has shrunk quite dramatically over the past three to five years. From the sounds of the Caixin article, it seems many Africans are already wising up to the game too, but it’s a shame that these terrible phones have served as the Chinese tech industry’s ambassador to the region. To a certain extent, Africans probably wouldn’t be thrilled about massive phone imports from anywhere regardless of their quality, because that stifles the growth of domestic handset companies. But with that said, I suspect that real Chinese brands that could have succeeded and build some good will in Africa will now have face a very stiff challenge if they decide to move into the region. It’s said that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and Chinese shanzhai phone manufacturers have helped assure that Africa’s first impression of Chinese phones is pretty damn bad.
(As an interesting side note, it seems that some Chinese salesmen are quite literally carrying on the tradition of the traveling snake-oil salesman. Called “backpackers,” they move from city to city selling cheap, fake phones and then moving on when interest dries up.)
Just yesterday, I wrote about China’s soft-power failures from a regulatory perspective, and today there is more news about soft power failures, albeit of a kind that isn’t really the government’s fault. This excellent Caixin piece describes how Chinese shanzhai (low-cost imitation) mobile phone makers have grabbed a huge chunk of the East African mobile phone market. Chinese phones — nearly all of them counterfeit or off-brand cheap ones — now account for about 50 percent of the phones across East Africa. That might sound like a win for Chinese soft power — Africa embraces Chinese brands! — but it isn’t, because unsurprisingly, Africans aren’t any more excited about poorly-made mobile phones than Chinese people were when these same companies were peddling their wares domestically. From the Caixin article:
These low-cost, sometimes short-lived devices, have shaped the common Kenyan’s impression of “made in China” — too often for the worse. Moreover, some say Chinese wholesalers pouring cheap phones into Kenya have torn a fissure in Sino-Kenyan relations. I have long felt that Africa might be an ideal market for China’s cheap (but well-made) smartphones; most of them branded Android handsets that run between $100-$300. But it appears that by the time companies like Xiaomi can get their ducks in a row and expand into this market, shanzhai and low-quality handset may have already thoroughly poisoned the well by convincing African consumers that Chinese brands are, in the parlance of our times, cheap crap. On the other hand, the fact that shanzhai manufacturers are even peddling their wares in Africa to begin with is a sign of maturation in the Chinese mobile phone market, where just a few years ago these same terrible phones were being sold quite widely. Rocky Wang, the sales manager for “Tecno,” one off-brand handset maker doing business in Africa, told Caixin:
We pulled out of our domestic and Asian markets early and made Africa the main focus. A billion consumers [across Africa]. What a vast market! But, of course, China has more than a billion mobile phone consumers, and the rest of Asia probably has a billion more at least. The real reason Tecno and companies of its ilk have pulled out of Asia and moved into Africa is the same reason that traveling snake-oil salesmen moved from town to town: once people figure out your product is crap, the market dries up and you’re forced to move on. Chinese consumers have, in relatively short order, gone from embracing shanzhai phones for their low cost to mostly mocking them while buying respected domestic and international brands instead. The Chinese market for shanzhai phones has shrunk quite dramatically over the past three to five years. From the sounds of the Caixin article, it seems many Africans are already wising up to the game too, but it’s a shame that these terrible phones have served as the Chinese tech industry’s ambassador to the region. To a certain extent, Africans probably wouldn’t be thrilled about massive phone imports from anywhere regardless of their quality, because that stifles the growth of domestic handset companies. But with that said, I suspect that real Chinese brands that could have succeeded and build some good will in Africa will now have face a very stiff challenge if they decide to move into the region. It’s said that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and Chinese shanzhai phone manufacturers have helped assure that Africa’s first impression of Chinese phones is pretty damn bad.
(As an interesting side note, it seems that some Chinese salesmen are quite literally carrying on the tradition of the traveling snake-oil salesman. Called “backpackers,” they move from city to city selling cheap, fake phones and then moving on when interest dries up.)
Translated by
zhizi
東アフリカで大きなシェア率を占める中国のモバイルフォン — でも、いいことではない。
つい昨日、中国の規制面におけるソフトパワーの不足について書いたが、今日もまたソフトパワーの不足に関するニュースがある。といっても、政府の責任ではないのだが。この素晴らしいCaixinの記事は、中国のshanzhai(意味:低価格の模造品)携帯電話メーカーが東アフリカのモバイルフォン市場でいかに大きなシェアを握っているかについて書いている。現在、東アフリカに流通している中国の携帯電話は、ほとんどすべてが偽物もしくは無名の安物なのだが、東アフリカ全域の携帯電話市場の約50%を占めている。
つい昨日、中国の規制面におけるソフトパワーの不足について書いたが、今日もまたソフトパワーの不足に関するニュースがある。といっても、政府の責任ではないのだが。この素晴らしいCaixinの記事は、中国のshanzhai(意味:低価格の模造品)携帯電話メーカーが東アフリカのモバイルフォン市場でいかに大きなシェアを握っているかについて書いている。現在、東アフリカに流通している中国の携帯電話は、ほとんどすべてが偽物もしくは無名の安物なのだが、東アフリカ全域の携帯電話市場の約50%を占めている。
そういうと、アフリカが中国のブランドを支持して、中国のソフトパワーが勝っているように聞こえるが、そうではない。なぜなら、中国企業が中国国内で質の悪い携帯電話を売り歩いた時に中国人が見せたのと同じ反応をアフリカ人も見せているからだ。Caixinの記事を引用すると、
これらの低価格で、時にはすぐに壊れてしまう携帯が、ケニア人の「中国製」に対するイメージを作り上げている。それも、悪いイメージの方が多い。さらに、安価な携帯電話をケニアに流し込んでいる中国の卸業者は中国とケニアの関係に亀裂を入れているという人もいる。
これらの低価格で、時にはすぐに壊れてしまう携帯が、ケニア人の「中国製」に対するイメージを作り上げている。それも、悪いイメージの方が多い。さらに、安価な携帯電話をケニアに流し込んでいる中国の卸業者は中国とケニアの関係に亀裂を入れているという人もいる。
私はずっと、中国の低価格(で質のよい)スマートフォンにとってアフリカは理想的な市場かもしれないと思っていた。ほとんどのスマートフォンが 100〜300ドルのAndroidフォンだ。だが、Xiaomiのような企業が準備を整えて市場に参入した時には、安く質の悪い模造品の携帯電話によって、アフリカの消費者は中国のブランドは安物のくずだと認識し、市場は完全に台無しになっていたのかもしれない。
その一方で、低価格の模造品をつくるメーカーが最初にアフリカで携帯を売り歩くという事実は、中国の携帯電話市場が成熟していることを示している。中国でも、これらの粗悪な携帯電話が数年前まで全般的に飛ぶように売れていた。アフリカで携帯電話の販売を行う無名ブランド「Tenco」の営業部長Rocky Wang氏はCaixinに次のように語った。
「当社は早期に中国およびアジア市場から撤退し、アフリカに特化しています。アフリカ全土には10億の消費者がいます。本当に大きな市場です。」
「当社は早期に中国およびアジア市場から撤退し、アフリカに特化しています。アフリカ全土には10億の消費者がいます。本当に大きな市場です。」
だが、もちろん、中国には10億人以上の消費者がいて、それ以外のアジア諸国にもおそらく少なくても10億人はいる。Tecnoや同種の企業がアジアを撤退してアフリカに参入した本当の理由は、偽薬を販売して街から街へと旅する行商と同じだ。つまり、商品がくずだと見破られたら、市場が枯渇し、次の市場へと移動せざるを得ないということ。中国の消費者は、はじめは価格が安い低価格の模造携帯を受け入れ、その後に評判のよい国内外のブランド携帯を購入し、それらの模造携帯をけなすという過程に比較的短期間で移行していった。中国市場における低価格の模造携帯の需要はここ3〜5年で劇的に縮小している。
Caixinの記事からすると、多くのアフリカ人もすでにそういう行商スタイルに気付いているようだが、これらの粗悪な携帯電話が同地域における中国テック産業の大使となってしまったことは残念なことだ。また、アフリカもおそらく品質に関わらず、どこかの国から携帯電話を大量に輸入したいとは思わないだろう。もしそうすれば、国内の携帯企業の成長を抑制するからだ。だが、そうは言ったものも、アフリカ市場で成功し幾らかの歓迎を受けることができたかもしれない真の中国ブランドが、今、同地域に参入しようとしても、厳しい試練に直面するのではないかと思う。
第一印象は変えられないとよく言う。それなのに、中国の模造携帯メーカーは中国の携帯電話に対するアフリカ人の第一印象をかなり悪いものにしてしまった。
(興味深い関連話なのだが、中国の営業マンのなかには本当に偽薬の行商スタイルを行っている人がいるようだ。「バックッパッカー」と呼ばれる彼らは安い偽造携帯を街から街へ売り歩き、消費者の関心が無くなれば、次の街へと移動するそうだ。)
(興味深い関連話なのだが、中国の営業マンのなかには本当に偽薬の行商スタイルを行っている人がいるようだ。「バックッパッカー」と呼ばれる彼らは安い偽造携帯を街から街へ売り歩き、消費者の関心が無くなれば、次の街へと移動するそうだ。)
Result of Translation in Conyac
- Number of Characters of Requests:
- 3887letters
- Translation Language
- English → Japanese
- Translation Fee
- $87.465
- Translation Time
- about 4 hours
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