The Chinese Government has accused Nigerian business men of insisting that quality specification be reduced to reduced cost when they want to import products from China.
The Organising Committee of China International Auto Products EXPO (CIAPE) Vice Chairman, Mrs. Zhang Yazhu, who stated this, urged the Federal Government to put policies in place to bar importers from asking for and importing low quality goods.
According to Yazhu, Chinese businessmen love money just like their Nigerian counterparts and may be lured into making quick money due to the pressure of quick gain. She, however, said Chinese products were sold all over the world without complaints of sub- standardisation.
She, therefore, urged policy makers to embark on advocacy that would encourage importers to act with good conscience as far as the lives of their citizenry were concerned.
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She said: “We have big and reliable manufacturers in China recognised by our home government, but if a Nigerian importer decides to buy from the streets, the Government of China will not be held responsible for buying poor quality goods.
Yazhu said the essence of the expo was to showcase reliable manufacturers from China. “My argument and sincere advice is that Nigerians should stop asking our manufacturers for lower quality goods.
Advisory Partner & Chief Economist, PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC), Dr. Andrew S. Nevin, said Nigeria could be a top car manufacturer if the right policy was in place. He regretted that over 86 per cent of cars sold last year in Nigeria were second hand.
Nevin urged that the gap between cars made outside Nigeria and those inside it be bridged, noting that it is the only way the economy would grow. He regretted that South Africa with smaller population has a thriving car industry unlike in Nigeria where used cars are the order of the day.
While stressing that no economy could grow without basic structures in place, Nevin said: “There is the need to check the uncontrolled dumping of Tokunbo cars in the country in addition to the importers paying the right duties for imported cars.
A Chevrolet brand importer, Mr. Gabrial Omowunmi, narrated his experience on his first visit to China. He said he was apprehensive as he thought every Chinese product was fake. He, however, said that to his dismay, his Chinese partners complained that it is only Nigerians and Angolans that insisted on their producing fake and substandard products.
Omowunmi advised that stricter measures be put in place for imported products to ensure that quality goods are imported, especially now that there is recession.