‘MADE-IN-CHINA’REACHES FEVER PITCH

By+Deng+Yaqing

Enthusiasm for the beautiful game has rarely burned so brightly as it did at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. During the matches， football fans waved miniature flags of their countries， donned multicolored fluffy hairpieces and shook their caxirolas， percussion instruments specially designed in a bid to rival 2010s vuvuzela. Fuleco the Armadillo， the official mascot of the World Cup， whipped up visitors from all corners of the globe into frenzy. However， unknown to the crowd， all of this celebratory merchandise， and even Fuleco himself， originated from China.

When cameras turned to the football stadium， the eight Chinese characters of Yingli Solars slogan flashed on the advertising board in the arena. The Chinese solar company provided 27 sets of solar panels to power all of the stadium lighting masts in the cities hosting the World Cup.

Moreover， subways developed by China CNR Corp. Ltd. will ferry millions of travelers between Rios central station and Maracana Stadium. “For the 2016 Rio Olympics， 80 percent of the public transportation vehicles will be supplied by China，” said Wang Yong， chief engineer of CNR.

The futures bright

For Chinese entrepreneurs with international ambitions， the World Cup represents a chance to shine. “Its extensive coverage， high reseeding rate and great quantities of passionate fans allow Yingli to promote its brand in emerging markets，” Liang Tian， public relations director of Yingli， told Beijing Review.

At both the 2010 South Africa and 2014 Brazil World Cup， Yingli has been the sole Chinese company among six FIFA partners， eight FIFA World Cup sponsors and eight national supporters. After its sponsorship of the 2010 World Cup， its sales soared to 1.06 gigawatts （GW） the same year， and tripled over the following three years. Liang predicted its sales in 2014 will hit 4 GW due to the international brand promotion.

Aside from that， in a historic first， the World Cup will be powered by solar energy with Yingli Solar panels supplying electricity to Arena Pernambuco and the Maracana Stadium.

This will ensure that Yingli has its day in the sun marketing-wise. As an official FIFA World Cup Sponsor， Yinglis advertisement will be shown during all 64 matches， for at least eight minutes per match， in all 12 of Brazils World Cup stadiums. At the same time， it also enjoys the right to place its company logo next to the FIFA World Cup Official Emblem to advertise its products， ensuring the company will not be left languishing in the shade.

Of course， all of these privileges didnt come cheap； a hefty sponsorship fee had to be paid by Yingli. Liang declined to shed light on the spe-cific figure， citing its agreement with FIFA， but did disclose that the average marketing cost per watt is actually low given its large shipments of photovoltaic （PV） modules.

Such a sunny outlook belies the difficulties Chinese solar companies face on the international front. Recently， solar trade disputes with the United States and the EU have forced Chinas PV industry to undergo restructuring. Following the U.S. decision to impose tariffs ranging from 31.14 percent to 249.96 percent on PV products imported from China， the European Commission pegged the floor price for Chinese solar imports at 0.56 euro （$0.74） per watt and imposed an export quota of 7 GW on Chinese manufacturers.

These measures have undoubtedly cast a shadow over the industry. “Amid its plight， Yingli should take the initiative to explore new markets. In the course of its evolution， the company has expanded its presence from eight countries to more than 50 countries，” said Liang.

Sponsoring the World Cup reflects current trends in the Chinese PV industrys global gameplan， which is shifting the spotlight from traditional U.S. and European markets to emerging markets including Brazil， said Liu Chongyuan， a public relations officer from Yingli.

Climbing the value chain

In fact， Chinese companies have long been involved in making products for the world football event. In Yiwu， the worlds largest wholesale center for small commodities and accessories， the level of activity has kicked into overdrive owing to huge demand related to the 2014 World Cup.

In the first five months， Yiwus exports to Brazil totaled $160 million， up 31.4 percent year on year. Exports of sports commodities to Brazil were $2.78 million， up 42 percent from the same period last year.

In stark contrast to low-tech commodities shipped by small manufacturers before the World Cup events， high-end products containing advanced technologies have begun to appear more and more on Chinas exports list.

When Brazil unveiled its plan to renovate its rail transportation network by investing $5.43 billion in 2007， China CNR Corp. Ltd. managed to pip rivals Siemens and Alstom to the post in four bids， scoring an order for 90 electric multiple units （EMUs） and 114 subway units for the construction of the required infrastructure for the 2014 World Cup.

Since some EMUs have to share routes with freight trains， carriages produced by CNR have to be strong enough to remain intact even in the case of collisions with off-track freight trains. To meet these special requirements， CNR developed new technologies to manufacture carriages with a longitudinal compression load of as high as 363 tons， 2.5 times as much as those in Europe.

“Even if the EMU collides with an 80-ton cargo train traveling at a speed of 36 km per hour， the carriages will not be distorted or broken，” said Zhao Yao， EMU project manager of CNR.

“Every day during the World Cup， millions of tourists enjoy the convenience made possible by Chinese products. ‘Made-in-China products have undergone a drastic image change in the eyes of foreigners，” said Zhang Tian， publicity director of CNR. In addition to the subway， Chinese brands can be spotted both inside and outside the football stadium. Appliance maker Midea Group will be charged with keeping fans cool by providing air-conditioning equipment for nine of the 12 football fields—48 of the 64 football matches will be played in stadiums equipped with Mideas central air conditioners.

Nuctech Co. Ltd. provides nine of the 12 stadiums with security inspection equipment and services. The nine venues include Arena de Sao Paulo， scene of the opening ceremony and Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro， which will host the final. About 600 advanced security inspection equipment packages from Nuctech help screeners identify hazardous materials through clear imaging.

“In the past four years， the ‘made-inChina brand has gradually shed its image of focusing more on quantity than quality. By taking advantage of the World Cup， Chinas manufacturing industry has begun to show its true potential，” said Guo Xia， a research fellow from Peking Universitys China Center for Strategic Studies.

Setting goals

It seems that football fever is not confined solely to Brazil this summer. On June 5， the exciting news broke that Chinas biggest ecommerce company Alibaba had acquired 50 percent of Guangzhou Evergrande， Chinas top-notch football club， for $192 million. Alibaba will not only invest in Guangzhou Evergrande， but also push forward the progress of Chinas domestic game， according to Jack Ma， Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group.

Just recently， Evergrande announced its decision to open a branch of its school in Spain with the aim of training to nurture the future stars of Chinese football.

“Taobao， Alibabas online B2C shopping platform， sold 9.6 million cans of beer during the first day of the 2014 World Cup， while none of Chinas football clubs make profits from the industry，” Ma said in an article， maintaining that the intervention of new forces like the Internet would mark a massive uptick in the fortunes of Chinas domestic football scene.