Perspectives
ABC World News
BY DAVID MUIR (@DavidMuir), ERIC NOLL and
ENJOLI FRANCIS
May 15, 2012
In China, there is a hunger for all things American — and U.S. businesses, small and large, are taking note.
According to the U.S.-China Business Council, the Chinese spent $104 billion in U.S. exports in the last year — up 542 percent from 10 years ago.
In China recently, Oscar Atkinson, a CEO at Silicone Arts Labs in Memphis, Tenn., visited with potential partners in Beijing and then went to a medical trade fair in Shenzhen, shopping around his company’s new skin concealer product called Dermaflage.
…But other U.S. entrepreneurs like Lion Brand Yarn in New Jersey have found another way to reach the masses in China — through Export Now, an Amazon.com-like business that helps small- and medium-size U.S. businesses sell to Chinese consumers.
“Much like customers in other parts of the world, Chinese customers are often skeptical about the quality of Chinese-made products,” Export Now said. “U.S. products … are getting more and more welcome in the local market.”
The company, which sells everything from flip-flops to T-shirts and skateboards, said that 370 million Chinese had logged in to shop for U.S products on its website so far and that last year the site had sold $60 billion in U.S products.
