US President Trump will soon discover that Chinese consumers are a force to be reckoned with

This week all eyes were on Trump, also in China. The relationship between China and US President Trump is going to be a significant issue in 2017. And this is now being widely discussed, particularly by those in trade and foreign policy. However, besides politicans, big colpanies and other stakeholders, a group that everyone is forgetting about in this is Chinese consumers. They are likely going to be a significant part of any China-Trump situation or issue.

In 2016, Chinese consumers protested KFC China for a largely political issue at the Hague. And Chinese consumers have repeatedly boycotted, or at least decreased their purchases of, certain Japanese products in the past. They are paying attention to global politics and they will get involved in their own way. If they don't like it, nationalisme will boil over for a while and American companies will get hurt.

Any significant back-and-forth between China and President Trump in 2017 will draw in Chinese consumers. Yhey are already listening closely via de ever acrtive and extreme dynamic social media channels that broadcast news as fats as anyone can imagine in China.

And if they decide to stop, or decrease their patronage of, certain US businesses, it could have a significant impact.

This isn't something the US government has experienced much before. It will probably come as a surprise. So President Trump is going to discover that Chinese consumers are actually paying very close attention to what he is saying. And they actually have an ability to respond, if they choose...

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