It’s just another cheap propaganda by the party-state as China mocks Europe over air con,
… Chinese state media used the figures [of sold air cons to Europe] to attack Brussels’ plans for tariffs, which are aimed at shielding European industries, such as cars or solar panels, against cut-price Chinese imports.
Beijing heavily subsidises its factories, encouraging them to produce more than China’s own market can absorb. The surplus is exported at rock-bottom prices, putting European manufacturers in jeopardy.
The Chinese reports said European consumers’ appetite for cheap Chinese air con showed that Beijing’s industrial machine was a benefit to Europe, not a threat.
This narrative is also spread on social media and conveyed even by some mainstream media.
For OP it is apparently a favorite propaganda story as they have been frequently posting this “news” also here in this community:
Surging demand for Chinese air-conditioners amid record heatwave in Europe - (17 days ago)
Europe wants to rebalance trade with Beijing, but can’t quit Chinese air conditioners - (14 days ago)
This is a complete nothing burger, however.
It’s a BBC article written by a Singaporean, how do you make the jump to Chinese propaganda?
Please read my comment.
I read it and I think you’re confusing reality you don’t like with propaganda.
First off, it’s factual that air conditioners manufactured in Europe are generally split devices that need drilling (which anyone who rents can’t do, not just people who live in historic buildings who the article focuses on), and they also require installation by a certified expert (limits what brand you can actually buy at your location).
It’s also factual that people are buying more of them. I want to say I’ve never seen as many windows covered in plastic with a hose sticking out as this summer, and that all my neighbors are either talking about getting AC or smug about already having AC (I live in a building built less than 10 years ago and many of us have split devices), but it’s actually a well-documented trend in the last few years, not just now.
It’s also factual that Midea’s reported sales are surging and it’s factual that they have a large market share in Europe, nearly 30% here in Germany. That this brand appears often is due to them having a market share this large in the residential segment. Gree is larger worldwide but e.g. in Germany only has less than 5% in the residential segment.
What I’m getting at is that it’s true that there is a lot of advertising right now for their portable split device, but that they’re one of the biggest names in Europe in the residential market is not a new development at all. There is no sudden push from China.
Outside their share of the market, for portable devices it’s mostly Chinese manufactured devices too. Probably because those need to be cheap.
For split devices, the big names that are not Chinese are Japanese (Daikin and Mitsubishi). For some reason these Japanese brands are the big ones to go to if you want manufactured in Europe. I remember when we got our current AC there was a German brand we could have gotten, but they manufacture in China… in “partnership” with Midea. We went with Daikin, although it wasn’t for this reason.
So this is the reality. The worldwide market leader is Chinese (Gree). The market in countries like Germany is dominated by Chinese manufactured devices on the lower end (mostly Midea) and other countries only play a role on the higher end, but even then it’s >70% Asian.
Europe simply is not prepared to deal with rising temperatures by itself, and it follows that for every heat wave in the future, we can expect more articles about Chinese AC manufacturers growing their businesses in Europe. It’s certainly convenient for China, but it’s also just the reality we have.
This narrative has been spread in Chinese state-media and then across China’s social media. Nothing there happens organically. This is a Chinese state-controlled propaganda campaign as Beijing just exploits what they can.
That Chinese people like it doesn’t make it less true and calling it propaganda won’t fix your problem.
You have two options if you want to improve the situation:
- start a company that makes cheap AC units that are compatible with a market where most people rent and can’t install a device permanently, and then manufacture them in Europe instead of partnering with Midea like most existing brands do
- lobby for a right to AC. This could push people toward split devices, where the market is less reliant on China
That Chinese people like it …
What Chinese people post in the country’s social media sphere is highly censored. It has nothing to do with reality.
Addition as I just stumbled upon this disgusting propaganda stuff spread by Chinese state media (and then by social media, in China as well as in the West)
Philippines condemns China for ‘racist’ AI video depicting Filipinos as monkeys
The Philippines has condemned China’s state-run China Daily for broadcasting an AI-generated video depicting Filipinos as monkeys, calling the imagery “racist”, "offensive”, and “distressing” …
The monkey in the China Daily video is thrown into the sea and blasted with water cannons after it pulls out a sheet of lyrics bearing the words “South China Sea arbitration award”. Manila labelled the video “contemptible propaganda” and has demanded that the video be taken down immediately …
This comes straight from one of the Chinese Communist Party’s media outlets.
Not good but what the hell does this have to do with what the rest of this thread was about? Seems to me like you want to just deflect away from being wrong
Holy anti-Chinese cope.
PS: Nothing you said actually backs up your argument.
Why posting an ad here?
Ah, yes, an ad by checks notes BBC.
Do we really need air conditioning everywhere? I never felt the need for it, I do not feel it this year either.
Ah yes your right! We should all consider your personal experience above all others. People must be needlessly using AC! Absolutely no way they can be uncomfortable in a sweltering hot 29C apartment building with 90% humidity, they’re so dramatic!
Temperatures in my apartment never fell below 32C for a full week straight, including over night with all windows open.
I have lived in warmer conditions and for way longer than a week.
I’ve been kicked in the balls before. Doesn’t mean I want to live through it again if there is any possible alternative.
Wasn’t so bad.
Do you live in Southern/Southeastern Europe (or otherwise close to the Mediterranean coast) by any chance? If not then where was this? Humidity and house design are the real killers here; I know a guy from a literal desert where summers mean whole months of 40C°+ peaks who now studies in Germany. When talking about the recent heat wave, he said and I quote: “I drank nothing but water for two days straight because anything I ate would warm me up.” You can’t rely on the temperature alone for this.
This was in India.
If you’re planning for the future at all then I believe the answer is yes. When the average temperature rises by 1-2 degrees that doesn’t really mean it’s 1-2 degrees hotter year round. It means the extremes become more extreme.
I read an article the other day about Eurostar upgrading the spec for trains they ordered to requiring the AC to work up to 55 degrees. That is exactly the kind of planning we need to do. We can’t afford to say “I can deal with hot summers as they are now and therefore we don’t need AC”.
Where I live we regularly get near 40 in spring and summer now, and while that’s a lot more than what we used to see during my childhood in the 80ies and 90ies, it’s temperatures that can be made survivable with other means. But even so, and even though AC is an option, people die. Germany had 5100 deaths from heat this June. That’s nearly twice the yearly number from recent years. It’s not going to get better.
As a healthy person, I have lived with 52 degrees without AC and that was not much of a problem. It may be something needed for elderly and young kids, but I do not see the point of widespread application throughout Europe.
In most cases I deem it as a useless luxury.
If you don’t need ac, that’s okay.
But since temperatures will rise over the next years, we need AC for those people that cannot handle the heat, like kids, elderly, medically compromised people. And the higher the temperature rises the smaller the percentage of people who can handle high temperatures gets.No question about that. I am not saying AC is useless, just that I don’t see it necessary for widespread installation throughout Europe.
No one is forcing anyone to install AC where is not needed
The biggest priority should be reduce red tape for people who wants to install, do it without any hassle
Nobody is, but that is not really the point.
This is a very energy intensive machine and it is becoming a widespread luxury. I’m just reminding people that such a machine is not needed in most cases.
If you want one go ahead and install it in your house, I have no problem with that; however I do not see it as a positive thing that it is now considered a common appliance and that it should be widely available to everyone.
Funny how I never seen people shit talking like that for heating, which is generally way worse than cooling btw.
If you want to shit talk go somewhere else.
I made my reasons fairly clear, I don’t see why you’d have to insult me.
I’m yet to see for example people telling Northern countries should be abandoned
I neither said that it is getting too hot to live, nor that AC should not be used when it is too hot to live. What is your point?
Is your opinion that current temperatures in Europe are too hot to live without AC or will in the near future be too hot to live?
I do not think that is the case. Temperatures are high, but mostly punctually in the 40s. I do not think these temperatures are too high to live comfortably without AC. Were we going to have a month in the 50s it could maybe become a nice idea.
Why do you complain about AC and not heating
Heating is mostly already existing infrastructure, AC is not: we need to build a lot of new infrastructure for something that I don’t see as very valuable.
Same cost as an actual split installed.
The only benefit is for rental units without AC installed by the landlord.
Which is really big because most of Europe has a housing crisis going on and home ownership rates are in the toilet.
Point.
But my emphasis was that it seemed to be highly priced (taking advantage of this fact in housing)
Yeah that makes sense. Another way capitalism screws us over, I guess.
