Guess who’ll win election — president’s souvenir orders trump Biden’s in China

蘋果日報 2020/09/04 13:01


As the Donald Trump administration keeps up the pressure on China, political pundits are pinning their hopes on his presidential election rival Joe Biden to alleviate the months-long diplomatic row.
Among Chinese manufacturers, however, makers of American campaign souvenirs are waging their bets on the incumbent, saying Trump’s popularity at home is proven by substantial orders to produce his merchandise — which are apparently “multiple times” more than Biden’s — according to a report by Singapore-based Lianhe Zaobao newspaper.
“The orders speak for themselves,” said Li Qingxiang, a wholesaler in China’s Yiwu city, known for its huge market of small commodities.
She told Lianhe Zaobao of having recently received orders for nearly 200,000 “Trump for President 2020” flags compared with only a few thousands of those dedicated to the Democratic Party candidate.
Orders for Trump campaign souvenirs were also received months before Biden’s, said another worker in Yiwu, surnamed Zhou.
empty
Located in Zhejiang province, Yiwu is seen as China’s “export capital” of small commodities such as Christmas trees, masks and other custom-made products. Its wholesalers have a knack of getting first-hand information on what is highly sought after.
From yellow vests to “Black Lives Matter” masks, the market is also seen by locals as the barometer of global social movements, with some even dubbing this as the “Yiwu Index” for its power to predict what is trending. In 2016, the talk of the town was, allegedly, that Trump campaign products were much more desired than then-candidate Hilary Clinton before he clinched victory at the November presidential election.
This time around, some Chinese internet users are making snide remarks, saying it may be Biden’s turn to “make America great again” by producing his campaign souvenirs on home soil.
Click here for Chinese version
---------------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE
To download the latest version,
Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play