波多野结衣办公室双飞_制服 丝袜 综合 日韩 欧美_网站永久看片免费_欧美一级片在线免费观看_免费视频91蜜桃_精产国品一区二区三区_97超碰免费在线观看_欧美做受喷浆在线观看_国产熟妇搡bbbb搡bbbb_麻豆精品国产传媒

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / First Person View

Europe's pricey iPhone 16e tells a bigger story

By Zhang Zhouxiang | China Daily Global | Updated: 2025-07-25 09:20
Share
Share - WeChat
A man arranges bicycles on a stand at the Eurobike bicycle trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 24. Daily industrial goods usually cost more in Europe than in both China and the US. BORIS ROESSLER/AP

A brand-new iPhone 16e currently sells for 4,499 yuan ($627.72) on Apple's China website — roughly 575 euros ($676) at today's exchange rate. But walk into an Apple Store in Brussels and the exact same model starts at 719 euros, more than 1,000 yuan higher than in China. If you check the US Apple Store, the price starts at $599, which only widens the gap further.

The price difference is not just a fluke of tariff or value-added tax. The same pattern repeats itself across countless everyday consumer goods. Take a pair of Nintendo Joy-Con controllers: in China, they cost a bit over 600 yuan, but in Europe the sticker price is 89.99 euros — about 100 yuan more after conversion. Even household basics show this curious spread: a simple ceiling fan light might sell for around 300 to 400 yuan in China — about 40 to 50 euros — but in a Belgian store, a similar quality fixture typically costs nearly double that, around 80 to 100 euros.

Then there is the bicycle. On the streets of Brussels, a basic single-speed bike, nothing fancy in design or materials, goes for over 200 euros. For many young people, that is not pocket change. Matthias, a 25-year-old graduate I spoke to, didn't buy his from a shiny high street shop; he scoured a secondhand store and still had to pay 120 euros, which for him is a sizable expense. No wonder, he and his friends lock up their bikes like prized possessions, in sharp contrast to China's near-ubiquitous dockless sharing bikes, often left unchained outside shops and apartments.

Look around and it's obvious: everyday industrial goods cost significantly more in Europe than in both China and the US. Some might shrug and say it's simple economics: higher wages, higher rents, higher taxes, higher logistics costs. But that only explains part of the story. When you remember that the iPhone 16e is also cheaper in the US than in Europe — $599 versus 719 euros — it's clear that cost alone doesn't account for it all.

What's behind these price gaps? Several European economists I interviewed pointed to a pattern that many in Europe would rather not discuss openly: the continent has moved away from industrial production faster than anywhere else in the developed world. Take the example of Germany which has historically been Europe's industrial powerhouse. In 1991, industry made up over 33 percent of Germany's total economy. By 2009, it had dropped to under 24 percent, and even after years of efforts to revive manufacturing, it still hovers around 26 percent, far below its peak.

In Belgium, the story is even starker. Industrial output as a share of GDP fell from 26 percent in the mid-1990s to under 19 percent in 2023. Those lost percentage points represent factories shuttered, machines scrapped, jobs that shifted from factory floors to service counters and glass-walled offices. Across the EU's major economies, the same pattern holds true: industry shrinks while services expand, now making up about 70 percent of most national economies.

On paper, this is modern economic evolution. A larger service sector is often seen as a sign of progress, higher living standards, and smarter, more flexible jobs. You rarely see factory workers on the streets of Brussels, Berlin or Paris these days. The same people who once tightened bolts on an assembly line now tap on tablets, guiding clients through insurance plans and mortgage refinancing — ideally over a cappuccino in a cafe booked three days in advance.

Who wouldn't rather be a suited-up consultant than a grease-stained machinist? For many, that's a dream come true. But as Europe's shop floors have emptied, the cost of everyday industrial goods has crept steadily higher. If there are fewer local factories making everyday products, then those products must be imported from China or Southeast Asia. Every step of that supply chain adds a little more to the price tag, which is eventually handed to the consumer.

Not long ago, I visited a European scholar who studies modern tech and the digital economy. He was refreshingly honest about the contradiction: he fully supports Chinese companies selling into Europe, calling it a win-win. Chinese enterprises make money while European consumers get affordable, good-quality products. He was true to his word, too — he proudly showed me his Chinese-made electric car, which he claimed was the first of its kind in his small city (though he admitted he might have exaggerated a bit). He started it up for me, soft ambient light glowing through the panoramic sunroof.

But he didn't just praise Chinese industry. He also offered a blunt observation: despite the appeal of lower prices, Chinese goods still don't command the same trust among European consumers. I tried to challenge him on that, pulling up the latest data for Chinese electric car sales in Europe. He was right. In February 2025, registrations for Xpeng vehicles doubled in Germany — but the total was still only 162 cars. Compared to China's domestic EV market, where brands measure monthly sales in tens or hundreds of thousands, that's barely a rounding error.

His advice to Chinese companies? If you want Europeans to buy your products, don't just ship them in from Asia and hire a local sales rep. Build factories here. Hire locals. Sponsor the local football team. Make your brand feel like the friendly neighbor down the street — not a faceless exporter on the other side of the planet. "Europeans trust brands they see around them, brands that feel familiar," he said. "If Chinese companies employ local people, join local events, share the same lunch tables — trust will follow."

He's right. In a way, Europe's uneasy relationship with industrial decline is rooted in its own past. The world's first Industrial Revolution began here. For centuries, Europe was synonymous with engineering prowess — cars, planes, ships, locomotives, even the rockets that once reached the stars. For Europeans, making things wasn't just an economic necessity, it was identity. Small wonder that when an economy moves past manufacturing, people miss it — not in the sense that they want to return to the assembly line, but in the sense that they still trust what they can see, touch, and assemble themselves.

Europe's story holds a clear lesson for China. Today, "Made in China" has become shorthand for reliable quality and unbeatable price. But China is rapidly shifting too: gleaming skyscrapers and thriving service firms fill its biggest cities. More and more young graduates prefer laptops and design studios over factory floors. And rightly so — no one should have to "tighten screws" for life. Chinese workers deserve fair pay, strong labor protection, and better working conditions.

But the deeper challenge is this: how to maintain a healthy, competitive industrial base even as the service sector expands? How to avoid repeating Europe's mistakes — where deindustrialization went too far, too fast, leaving households paying premium prices for everyday goods? No country that dreams of long-term prosperity can afford to forget how to make things. Industrial jobs should not be romanticized, but neither should they be allowed to vanish entirely.

If Europe's expensive iPhone 16e teaches us anything, it's that the real value of an economy lies not just in slick offices and polished slideshows, but in the solid, tangible output of factories and workshops. China's next great economic leap will not come from abandoning factories for coffee shops, but from striking the right balance: nurturing its workers, rewarding their skills, and ensuring that when a young graduate buys a bike — or an iPhone — they know that behind that affordable price is a powerful, resilient industrial backbone that keeps the whole system humming.

The author is the China Daily EU Bureau Chief Correspondent based in Brussels.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
波多野结衣办公室双飞_制服 丝袜 综合 日韩 欧美_网站永久看片免费_欧美一级片在线免费观看_免费视频91蜜桃_精产国品一区二区三区_97超碰免费在线观看_欧美做受喷浆在线观看_国产熟妇搡bbbb搡bbbb_麻豆精品国产传媒
日本女人一区二区三区| 99久久人妻精品免费二区| 免费观看a级片| 日韩欧美一区二区久久婷婷| 亚洲一二三四区| 日本人dh亚洲人ⅹxx| 欧美午夜在线观看| 一区二区三区不卡视频在线观看| k8久久久一区二区三区| 国产精品久久久久久久精| 国产精品久久久久久一区二区三区| 国产成人丝袜美腿| 老熟妇高潮一区二区三区| 国产精品欧美极品| 成人精品在线视频观看| 中文字幕av播放| 亚洲日本青草视频在线怡红院 | 欧美成人在线直播| 蜜臀精品久久久久久蜜臀| 国产毛片久久久久久久| 久久人人97超碰com| 国产精品99精品久久免费| 三级全黄做爰视频| 亚洲天堂久久久久久久| 久久久久99人妻一区二区三区| 欧美日韩国产在线观看| 日韩电影一区二区三区四区| 亚洲欧洲久久久| 国产目拍亚洲精品99久久精品| 高清国产一区二区| 欧美在线观看一区| 日韩专区一卡二卡| 日本精品久久久久中文| 国产精品国产三级国产| 久久久精品人妻一区二区三区| 这里只有精品视频在线观看| 麻豆精品视频在线| 国产第一页浮力| 亚洲综合小说图片| 精品无码在线视频| 国产日韩欧美高清| 91美女在线视频| 日韩欧美国产综合一区| 国产成人综合在线观看| 欧美影片第一页| 蜜臀a∨国产成人精品| 国产免费美女视频| 亚洲香蕉伊在人在线观| 成人黄色免费网址| 自拍偷拍欧美精品| 免费成人深夜夜行p站| 欧美国产乱子伦 | 久久无码人妻一区二区三区| 91精品在线麻豆| 国产精品久久久久久户外露出| 99热这里只有精品2| 日韩欧美一区二区久久婷婷| 丰满白嫩尤物一区二区| 欧美剧情片在线观看| 国产一区91精品张津瑜| 欧美日韩一区不卡| 激情综合网av| 欧美在线免费视屏| 国产一区二区免费在线| 欧美无砖专区一中文字| 狠狠色综合日日| 欧美日韩中文字幕一区| 国产一区二区毛片| 777xxx欧美| 成人天堂资源www在线| 日韩一级欧美一级| 91在线精品一区二区三区| 欧美精品一区二区在线观看| 丰满少妇中文字幕| 国产日韩欧美一区二区三区综合| 91麻豆免费观看| 欧美激情一区二区在线| 污污内射在线观看一区二区少妇 | 在线亚洲一区二区| 久久精品国产久精国产爱| 欧美在线free| 国产精品白丝jk白祙喷水网站 | 99re成人在线| 久久嫩草精品久久久精品| 精品无码av一区二区三区不卡| 国产欧美一区二区三区在线老狼| 中文字幕在线播放视频| 亚洲欧美激情在线| 欧美成人短视频| 免费在线一区观看| 欧美日韩国产大片| jlzzjlzz亚洲日本少妇| 国产无遮挡一区二区三区毛片日本| 成人区人妻精品一区二| 亚洲欧美日韩国产成人精品影院| 大胸美女被爆操| 天堂成人免费av电影一区| 色欲综合视频天天天| 国产精选一区二区三区| 欧美成人精品1314www| 免费看三级黄色片| 亚洲欧美日韩中文播放| 精品国产大片大片大片| 激情小说亚洲一区| 日韩亚洲欧美综合| 中文字幕天堂av| 亚洲精品国产第一综合99久久| 成人涩涩小片视频日本| 国产伦精品一区二区三区视频青涩| 日韩欧美专区在线| 中文字幕精品久久久| 亚洲午夜电影在线观看| 91黄色免费版| 99国产精品99久久久久久| 国产精品毛片久久久久久| 人妻无码一区二区三区免费| 久久66热re国产| 欧美精品一区二区三| 国精产品一区一区三区免费视频 | 亚洲第一主播视频| 欧美三级蜜桃2在线观看| 91丨porny丨首页| 亚洲六月丁香色婷婷综合久久| 成人在线观看免费完整| 高清在线不卡av| 国产精品久久久久一区二区三区共 | 精品国产区一区| 亚洲狠狠婷婷综合久久久久图片| 日精品一区二区| 欧美一区二区高清| 黄色在线观看av| 捆绑紧缚一区二区三区视频| 精品电影一区二区三区| 日本理论中文字幕| 国产麻豆视频一区| 国产精品久久久久一区二区三区共| 91嫩草|国产丨精品入口| av亚洲精华国产精华精| 亚洲精品免费播放| 欧美日韩国产精选| 中文字幕在线播放视频| 久久成人精品无人区| 久久久久久久免费视频了| 99久久精品久久亚洲精品| 成人免费看黄yyy456| 亚洲人吸女人奶水| 精品视频在线免费| 亚洲观看黄色网| 狠狠色狠狠色合久久伊人| 中文字幕国产精品一区二区| 色综合久久久久综合| 日韩精品――色哟哟| 欧美bbbbb| 国产免费久久精品| 91福利视频久久久久| 免费日本黄色网址| 精品无人区卡一卡二卡三乱码免费卡| 久久伊人中文字幕| 色综合视频在线观看| 国产精品二区视频| 蜜臀a∨国产成人精品| 国产精品色噜噜| 欧美日韩综合一区| 亚洲一级中文字幕| 国产不卡视频在线播放| 一区二区三区日韩欧美| 日韩欧美国产综合一区| 午夜精品一区二区三级视频| 欧美色图校园春色| 久久精品久久久精品美女| 欧美一区二区国产| 一区二区三区在线播放视频| 91麻豆精品在线观看| 免费美女久久99| 国产精品免费看片| 欧美精品久久99| 萌白酱视频在线| 国产人妖在线观看| 国产在线看一区| 一区二区三区中文字幕| 欧美精品一区二区久久久| 色综合中文字幕国产| www.17c.com喷水少妇| 国产一区二区美女| 亚洲mv在线观看| 中文字幕av一区二区三区高| 欧美日韩国产综合一区二区| 四虎成人免费影院| 亚洲欧美日韩色| 成人一区二区在线观看| 日韩国产欧美一区二区三区| 国产精品夫妻自拍| 欧美电视剧免费观看| 在线观看免费亚洲| 国产主播av在线| 欧类av怡春院| 91视频在线看| 国产福利一区二区三区在线视频| 午夜欧美在线一二页| 亚洲欧美自拍偷拍|