With the approval of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and CMC Chairman Xi Jinping, the four headquarters of the PLA recently issued a document to encourage frugality and fight waste among military and armed police forces. One measure that requires military vehicles to be selected from domestic brands has in particular won public praise.
Anti-corruption efforts by the central authorities and the ensuing accomplishments in the past year have boosted both social confidence and expectations. The fight against corruption among the military is being promoted almost simultaneously. The recent document aims to improve the military's image through regulating military vehicles that frequently appear in full view of the public.
The document is very positive news for locally made cars. It is common practice in many countries that domestic brands are favored in government purchases. While China is the biggest market for car production and sales, the Chinese government could both inhibit corruption in purchasing official vehicles and support the domestic auto industry by following suit.
This document, which sees a high level of public support, should be strictly practiced, accompanied by a set of supervision and liability accountability mechanisms. And the requirement of favoring domestic brands should be gradually applied to all official vehicles.
Compared with their Western counterparts, China's home-produced vehicles are much less competitive and deserve certain government support. However, overprotection will only make them weak, and only through cutthroat market competition can domestic auto brands truly become strong.
According to the recent document, purchases of military vehicles should be made through a centralized system, and market competition mechanisms must be introduced in this process. With years of development, several domestic auto brands have been fostered. These domestic auto makers should be encouraged to compete in government purchasing contracts through transparent procedures.
Domestic auto brands need to take this precious opportunity, increase competitiveness and ultimately get rid of reliance on supportive government policies. If domestic car producers focus on PR work in the wake of the document's release, rather than brand growth in a real sense, they will only be exposed to more risks.
Free trade remains the global trend, and military or government vehicles are only a small group of target customers for home-made brands. Domestic car makers should have greater ambitions.
Many have mentioned that it's not uncommon to see Japanese brands used by China's military. This is a result of market selection. It is time for domestically produced brands to boost their own competitiveness.