The TIRE+ Expo 2017 was held in Shanghai.
Xu Wenying, vice chairwoman and chief secretary of China Rubber Industry Association, accepted an exclusive interview by Tireworld.com.cn during the expo.
Few people know tire
Tireworld:How CRIA thinks about holding the expo?
Xu:I always feel bitter that few people know tire.
Many people even don’t know what is radial tire and what is a bias tire.
If the administrators have no such knowledge, it will be impossible for them to formulate appropriate industrial policies.
On the other hand, consumers know little tire information. Actually, most consumers know nothing about domestic tire brands and tire safety.
Tireworld:So the expo is also for public welfare?
Xu:I think an expo held by an association should be partly for public welfare and no-profit.
The most important job of us is to urge producers to spread tire information and to make people know about domestic tire brand and tire safety.
CRIA’s in-depth participation in the expo is to promote domestic tire brands.
Endorsing domestic brands
Tireworld:What brand are the tires of your car, by the way?
Xu:I use domestic brand. My car was equipped with Michelin tires originally, and I changed them for domestic brand for over a year. The quality is good as well.
As long as my family and friends asked for suggestion when they were going to change tires, I would suggest domestic brands.
Tireworld: How large is the gap between domestic tire brands and foreign brands?
Xu:For some leading domestic brands, the gap in quality is limited, but that in brand premium is huge.
Domestic producers may not able to work out some ultra high-end models, but consumers should be confident in using ordinary tires produced by domestic producers.
In addition, there are gaps in brand culture, R&D accumulation and vehicle support system. But we have our advantages.
Influence more important that size
Tireworld:What is the positioning of the expo this time?
Xu:We positioned the expo as a high-end tire brand exhibition. We invited quality producers only.
Tireworld: What do you think is an ideal tire expo?
Xu:We didn’t think about the size, the most important should be the influence.
I like a European coating expo best. In each year’s expo, all participants wore suits. In such an expo, the experts talk about industrial issues, release their latest products, and tell people how their products affect everyone’s life.
In their words, your life is in darkness without the coating.
We should do this by telling people what the world will be like without tires.
It is a culture and a development orientation.
