Chinese products gain popularity in Russian Far East city

VLADIVOSTOK - Chinese products are gaining popularity in the Russian Far East city, with Chinese-made clothes and electronics now accounting for 80 to 90 percent of the local market.

"In the 1980s, made-in-China products meant bad quality. But now they are as popular as products from any other countries," said Najerita, a salesgirl at a small downtown store.

"In the past, the shoes imported from China always had a strong smell. But now they have no smell at all," Najerita told Xinhua. "I haven't heard about any complaint about Chinese products."

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In Gum, one of the most famous stores in Vladivostok, Chinese products are gaining popularity.

"They account for more than 80 percent of the market. Jeans, T-shirts and leather shoes sell best," said Egor, who sells the famous Russian brand New Yorker.

The best-selling jeans normally cost $30 to $50, while T-shirts are $30 to $40, similar to the prices in China. Knee-high boots suitable for Russians are about $100.

In addition to clothes, electronic products such as computers and tablets were mostly "from China" or "Made-in-China", especially the smaller gadgets like mice, USB disks, earphones and keyboards, said Vyacheslav, a salesperson at the DNS electronic store.

"Consumers purchase these products because they have excellent quality and reasonable prices," Vyacheslav said.

The four-layer shelves at DNS are filled with Chinese laptops, including Lenovo and Huawei, which cost between $500 and $600.

"Chinese domestic brands are very popular among local residents. Laptops such as Lenovo and Huawei sell well. Sales volumes for the two brands could reach 15 million roubles ($45,000) per month," store manager Daniel said.

"The computers we use are all assembled in China. In the Russian Far East, Chinese products no longer have anything to do with bad quality," an emergency worker said.