I have been in China for the past week. As it happens my visit coincided with the announcement from the White House on imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods imported to the U.S.
We launched a special report on trust in Chinese companies last week. We had long been fascinated by the low level of trust in companies headquartered in China. It is comparable to companies from India, Mexico and Brazil at 36 percent. That is nearly half as trusted as brands from Canada or Switzerland or Sweden and 14 points below brands from America.
Here is the story our findings tell:
1. Chinese brands score quite high on innovation, on value for money and on bringing jobs to the market.
2. Brand China scores very low on treatment of employees, on environmental stewardship and on having values "like mine."
3. Brand China scores much better in developing markets such as India or Russia. It does poorly in the U.S., UK and Germany.
4. Chinese brands score very high in trust in the home market.
5. CEOs of Chinese companies are unknown with the exception of Jack Ma in a few large export markets (Indonesia and India).
There is much good news in the report for Chinese companies to build on. On rational attributes, such as value and innovation, the scores are high. But on emotional or reputational aspects, such as sustainability, there is much work to be done.
With the onset of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, trust will become an even more important attribute for companies on both sides of the Pacific. U.S. companies would be well advised to emphasize their commitment to local employment, training and philanthropy in China.
Richard Edelman is president and CEO.