Hacker News Reader

Comment by realmod | Hacker News Reader

Actually China was designated currency manipulators by Clinton from 1992 to 1994

How did I miss that? Interesting. So, that makes today's announcement still significant, but not unprecedented. We will see if the response is similar to last time.

Interesting. What changed in 1994?

China reformed their currency. See the historical exchange rate for RMB: https://www.macrotrends.net/2575/us-dollar-yuan-exchange-rat...

It went from 6 RMB/dollar to just less than 9 overnight. It was basically a crazy rate (no one would use that rate unless forced) before the reform.

Before that there was even a dual system of foreigner money and local money, only foreigner yuan could be used at the friendship department store...it would have been cool to visit China before 1994.

I visited in 1991 for three months as a 14 year old. I don't recall a dual system (unless it was voucher based?), but I remember the friendship department stores and loads of other interesting things - Russian-styled hotels in Xian, Pudong being basically farmland, snakeboats on the Huangpu, etc. It had changed a lot by the time I next visited in late 2003. I don't think they yet had a McDonalds, but there was a three-storey KFC on Tiananmen that was popular. Yangshuo at the time was a very basic village which made it very charming. I remember staying at a guesthouse used for diplomats near Beidaihe - the mattresses we kids slept on were about half an inch thick. At the end of the trip, we left on a slow-boat from Shanghai to Hong Kong, and the elderly Chinese in the gaming room taught us Mahjong on the multi-day trip.

McDonald’s has been in China since the late 90s, there was even a couple of Starbucks when I visited in late 1999! 94 is sort of what I see as the cutoff between old and new China.

What’s funny is Starbucks in China is considered high end coffee shop (it literally cost $8 for an ice latte). So you can even see “influencers” bragging themselves there

If you think that's funny, you should see the Pizza Huts.

That’s true. To be fair though, Chinese version of Pizza Huts & KFC is whole another level better

Pizza Hut sure, but KFC is similar to its American fast food incarnation. Starbucks serves as the consistently nice place to hang out, in both the USA and China, so no surprise there. Interesting aspect that in China there are many less TOGO orders, people are really paying for the nice place to hang out part.

Is Pizza Hut still considered fine dining these days?

In China it is more on par with TGIF and such chain restaurants.

They're trying to upscale it even more [1], and when they first entered the China market, they were considered upscale relative to other options [2], and were far more sit-down oriented than their US branches during that long-ago time period. Since then, options have proliferated, and competition has heated up to the point that such low-level differentiation is no longer sufficient, hence their current even greater upscaling efforts.

I'd like to hear from Chinese HN readers who grew up remembering Pizza Hut arriving in their locale, and how it was viewed then versus now with the greater competition. With innovations like Haidilao's highly-automated (not fully-automated) robotic restaurant [3] for locals, and even Tier 2 cities with business class Western hotel chains like Sheraton boasting every day dinner buffets that put US Sunday brunch at Four Seasons to shame, I think Chinese citizens in most metro areas have an embarrassment of culinary riches in options now. The local hole in the wall restaurants in the more rural areas that I tried were also a delight. To stay at the top of the game, Western restaurant chains have a high bar to clear, especially as many home-grown Chinese restauranteurs have cottoned onto how dining out is not about food, it is about entertainment.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yum-china-hldg-pizzahut-f...

[2] https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Pizza-Hut-so-much-better-in-Chi...

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61y2nAE8GsI

> $8 for an ice latte

You have not been to their "reserve" stores where they sell noname American whiskey for $20 a cup

This is a funny things that happened with many American brands in China.

McDonalds has desk service, and actually quite satiating meals

Wallmart turned into a somewhat upscale store

KFC - Same story as Mac

Pizza hut... Ever seen a $50 pizza hut pizza meal?

Wendy's? Probably along same lines

Buick!!!!!! Pffffffff!!!!! - China is the one of a kind country where people will buys a car falling apart as you drive just because it is American.

Other GM brands, Ford, Lincoln - more or less the same on a lesser scale. Ford was a latecomer to selling "Americanness," but I think they just got it right now. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-china-lincoln/...

GE appliances (actually Haier now) - same story

I even recall stories of some "made in USA" clothing and apparel going big

I personally saw a very plain looking black plastic sunglasses going for $100+ with "Made in USA" and your flag boldly silkscreened on it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com