Chinese consumers are very different than their American equivalents. I try to avoid making generalizations, but many Chinese consumers are not that sophisticated, due to cultural, historic and economic factors.

Here is an example. Plenty of commercials still tout that products have passed the national standards. "Really, meeting the national standard is a minimum requirement to enter the marketplace, but many consumers believe that makes an exceptionally good product," said Chen Changjie, deputy supervisor of the Plastic Packaging Professional Committee of the China Packaging Federation.

He was speaking at the Industrial Forum on Green Plastics and Rubber during last week's Chinaplas show.

The reason why some consumers misunderstand the "meeting-standards" claim is because decades ago, when modern manufacturing just started in China, being able to meet national standards was a big deal.

At least that's my version of explanation. But the truth is, although China has been making strides in manufacturing, especially for exports, the Chinese domestic market is still filled with subpar products.

I have written in my blog about how widespread counterfeiting is in China, not just of luxury or brand items. Subpar-quality products are even more overwhelming.

The government should take some blame for failing to regulate the market in an effective manner. The consumers also lack the awareness, knowledge, experience and support to defend consumer rights.

Take the possibly toxic foam take-out containers I used the other day. Knowing that the containers were probably mislabeled and low quality, an average consumer doesn't have an efficient way to solve the problem or file a complaint with the authorities.

Of course, I also notice some improvement during this trip. More retailers honor return policies, product design is getting better in general, the availability of foreign products and service is amazing, -- which makes sense given the number of Western expats in places like Shanghai.

In that sense, it's more accurate to state that it's tough to be a grassroots consumer in China. The top of the pyramid should feel just as comfortable as anywhere else in the world.