Gaining trust on a global scale

Chinese companies are catching up with their Western counterparts in branding expertise, but considerable challenges still lie ahead

Cyril Camus is the fifth generation of his family to run what is considered one of the world's great spirit brands.

Camus Cognac was first produced in France in 1863, and today, led by Cyril, its products range from special cognac blends to wine, champagne and even coffee.

But that portfolio also includes arguably one of the most venerable names in Chinese liquor, the baijiu, or white spirit, brand Moutai.

Camus Cognac and China Kweichow Moutai Distillery Co set up a partnership in 2005 to market Moutai globally, and thanks to the work of the two spirit companies, Moutai is now listed among the world's top 15 luxury brands, according to a recent study.

"Moutai is my favorite baijiu, I love the taste," said Camus, adding that it was the Chinese spirit's 2,000 year history that persuaded him to handle its global brand marketing.

Actually, Camus said he considers many of China's top brands to be global leaders.

Traveling the world as he does, Camus said he often sees the famous beer brand Tsingdao, Lenovo computers, Li-ning sneakers and Haier refrigerators, and has used the services of Bank of China.

Many Chinese brands are becoming internationalized, and Western consumers are increasingly starting to recognize them. But there are difficulties.

According to an international survey produced earlier this year by the global market research company Ipsos and Chinese magazine Global Entrepreneur, more than 70 percent of those polled agreed "a number of competitive multinational companies have emerged or are emerging in China".

The survey interviewed 39 Chinese companies, including Lenovo Group, Haier Group, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp.

It covered seven countries - the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Brazil - each of which had 200 respondents.