When you truly step out of the country, you will realize a cruel but real fact: ordinary Chinese people have a much weaker actual status in the world than we think. The most intuitive example is customs. As a worker who has spent many years in Europe, I have seen too many Chinese travelers being stopped, subjected to secondary checks, taken to a small room to check their phones, asked about their occupations, and have their bags searched, while people of other skin colors are more likely to pass through customs directly. The reason is simple; it's not that you did something wrong, but rather they estimate 'you might be carrying prohibited items.' These stereotypes are not formed in a day.

The second issue is that the influence of the Chinese language is greatly exaggerated. Marketing accounts say 'foreigners are all learning Chinese,' but the reality is that there are more than 21 million non-native Spanish speakers, while most foreigners who are truly committed to learning Chinese are doing so mainly for business or traffic, not for cultural recognition. We are familiar with Shakespeare, while they have almost no concept of Li Bai or Su Shi.

The third issue is the gap in brand trust. You think Huawei and Xiaomi are popular globally? But in Europe, Huawei's market share in Western Europe is only in single digits; Apple and Samsung are the default choices. In the first half of 2025, the percentage of domestic cars running on the streets of Germany was less than 0.5%, with Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Honda still being the mainstream.

The fourth issue is that Chinese manufacturing does not equal brand recognition. The whole world is using 'made in China,' but it's not using 'Chinese brands.' The American brands or niche trendy brands you buy likely come from Yiwu, but consumers always remember the LOGO, not the Chinese factories behind them. We are the 'production end' of the world, yet it's very difficult to become the 'value end.'

The fifth issue, which is the most painful, is that the internal competition among Chinese people has already crossed national borders. In Europe, it is not the locals who are competing with you, but the Chinese person next to you. Opening restaurants, running groups, delivering takeout, acting as shopping agents, you lower the price, I lower it even more; you work hard, I work even harder. In the end, everyone is exhausted, yet it makes the locals think 'Chinese people are taking their jobs,' and the image keeps getting worse.

Going abroad is not to envy anyone, but to see the gap clearly. Only by truly seeing the world can you see yourself clearly—we are still on the road, and this road is longer than we imagine.