Help me work out if this a micro aggression or if I’m over thinking.

[MikeLitoris]

Resurrecting a long dead MN account (pink Peter, bobble plate, naice ham, kind of oldie here) to ask this as DP is on the fence and I’m not sure if I’m overthinking.

reviewing a work document involving the purchase of some techie type equipment for resale (purposely vague sorry) and someone has marked a particular purchase as positive with the comment ‘No Chinese made X’s are purchased’ the insinuation being that Chinese made ones spy on our customers and we can use it as a selling point.

it’s making me uncomfortable every time I see it. Especially as they want to push it as a way to hook customers, but is it a micro aggression? Or is it a flat out xenophobic comment, or am I just being too sensitive?

Could you use something like 'product sourced from UK/Europe/wherever' rather than specifically mentioning China?

This is a much better approach I think.

You’re not overthinking at all OP, don’t sign it off as it is. Regardless of how valid concerns about Chinese products may be, the constant anti Chinese rhetoric is already impacting East Asians who live here are not involved in any wrongdoing.

that is not at ALL the same thing, and your comparison smacks of “whataboutism” and sea-lioning. Just don’t.

Exactly this - why put down another country / culture when you can just talk about the positives of your own product?

@JamSandle comments - exactly why people who have a Chinese heritage in the U.K. hardly ever speak up.

We are not responsible for what China does, we live in the U.K. and many of us are born here - but the constant narrative about China (spying, Uighers, manmade Covid, international students) means we are viewed and treated with suspicion, almost to the point we have to deny our heritage to be deemed "good residents / citizens" of the U.K.

There’s probably a much better way of phrasing whatever it is they are trying to say, in a more positive / explanatory spin, that is also actually more informative, than just saying it’s not Chinese..

try come up with better phrasing?

To add - if someone in Curry’s was trying to sell me a camera and used “it’s not chinese” as a selling point I’d think they needed better training and probably be a bit 🫤

It may be a valid issue (if say quality control / de risking intellectual property infringement or indeed security/spyware concerns) - but as drafted it sounds pretty dumb as a selling point.

There is nothing wrong with that. You are being bloody ridiculous.

id be surprised there wasn’t some teensy part which was made in China.

Depending what it is no it's not unreasonable to use the fact it isn't made in a country which is mandated to feed back any data processed through usage to the state, but I agree the wording could stoke tensions (sadly some can't separate out the actions of the state and individuals). Couldn't it just say where it is manufactured? Surely that speaks for itself and people who are conscious of the issues will know then it wasn't made there.

It's not a micro aggression. It's to do with risk. There will have (hopefully) been a full evaluation of this type of product and something may have been identified in the product that causes concern, as identified your Cyber security or Infosec department. I would not ignore that comment as you could put your company at risk. You will probably never know what that issue is.
(P.S. I'm a purchasing professional)

I think this shows there is a whole sector out there that people are simply not aware of. Cyber warfare is a massive concern and the government departments for cyber have been steady growing over the years, as has laws and regulation. China in one nation state actor amongst many others who have government led cyber gangs operating in the cyber space performing recon and looking for footholds.

There are people who work long hours to protect our infrastructure against attack but people simply do not know about them. It is more than adding anti virus to an organisations laptop's. What's worse, there is a large sex imbalance in the sector.

But I don't know your sector - it may be more to do with quality, environmental and employee concerns. Again, all very valid.