China Sales Dog Blog

Report: US-China trade negative impact on US labor market

Here is an informative article from the September 27 online edition of Wall Street Journal discussing the real impact on US manufacturing and jobs from years of increasing trade with China, or more accurately intensive buying from China-based manufacturers. The article "Tallying the Toll of U.S.-China Trade - Study Sees Americans Bearing High Economic Cost of Imports as Labor Market Struggles to Adapt" based on the research of three prominent economists does not challenge the traditional theory that increased trade is good for the economy. Rather, the research indicates the ramp up of China's exports has been too fast for the US economy to adapt. The result has been increasing unemployment.

The findings of the study (See study - Download ChinaMFGimpact) are consistent with my own perceptions of what's been happening in this US-China game. The conclusions of the report also support my earlier post arguing the US should maintain at least some level of manufacturing in as many sectors as possible, if not for strategic interests, then just for employment.

Have a good day!

Chris

Apple criticized for using environmentally unfriendly suppliers in China

Today several online publications including ZDnet and Reuters carried stories related to Apple's supplier network in China. Specifically, a Chinese environmental group energetically criticized Apple for exploiting developing countries to gain "super profits". Among the online community, doubt over the validity of the complaints was obvious. I too smell something fishy but for slightly different reasons. Here's my take.

That tricky sales process in China ...

Forgetting Chinese are very different from ourselves, Americans attempt selling to Chinese as they do with other Americans. When they fail to succeed, they can only return home befuddled by what may have gone wrong. Here is a story about a real-life sales situation in China, one that I hope will give you more insights to add to your quiver. 

Simple case for maintaining manufacturing capability in USA

I argue it behooves the US Government and US companies to maintain some level of manufacturing in in the USA in as many industries as possible ...

For the Government, it is about national security. Our highly complex national infrastructure and defense machine increasingly depend on materials and components from other countries, countries that are not always friendly. For just one example, think of the monopoly China has established around rare

"US exports hit record level in March 2011", or "Is China faltering"?

As a "China expert" its imperative that I keep up with China news to stay up with trends and all. A couple of days ago I came across this gem of an article highlighting that March 2011 was the US' single biggest month for exports ever, $173 billion, and US companies are returning home from China! Great for Americans, but why is it happening? It has to do with the changing economics associated with US companies manufacturing in places like China, or "mainly China", to serve the US market. Rising Chinese labor costs, the appreciating Chinese Yuan, major increases in US productivity (i.e. reduced labor component) and investment incentives in hungry US states are all contributors to this trend. It's a short, easy and fact-filled read.

See full article U.S. manufacturers are leaving China behind.

Enjoy!

Chris

 

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China wants to your intellectual property and why not

Subtitle: Trains, Planes and Automobiles or Business Suicide 101

How has China come so far so fast on so many fronts? The answer is quite simple: China is not shy about acquiring "your" technology and in fact will go to great efforts to acquire then morph it just enough to call it "homegrown". Recent high profile examples sited by the Wall Street Journal include high-speed trains and Soviet style fighter jets. Automobile technology fits nicely in here as well. Just go back 5, 10 and certainly 15 years and you'll see a China without any real capability to manufacture let alone develop any of these higher-end technology products.

Now it's 2010 and all we've been hearing is the likes of "China develops world's fastest supercomputer", "Chinese developed bullet train sets world record", "China producing and exporting fighter jets", "China leading push for electric automobiles", and so on. Yeah, there's debate about how much China has done on their own but the fact remains: the Chinese have learned a whole lot in a short time and they have developed many of their own capabilities. And, as long as foreign business are willing to "give" the Chinese would be crazy not to accept.

As a company selling in China, what's all this mean to you? Continued ....

The $10 Question on Efficiency of Chinese Companies

Sometimes I like to make it easy on myself so I cheat a little. In this case, the following post is from a comment I made in a Linked-In forum. I was responding to the question "Why are Chinese companies less efficient than their American, European and Japanese counterparts?" So here is my "cut and paste" blog post for today ...

The Chinese will buy it ... not!

 When it comes to "advice on China," there are so many things to talk about, one can become easily distracted. Case-in-point: this blog is intended to offer insights on selling in China but we've yet to offer anything (because there's so much other stuff to talk about). I suppose we ought to fix that ...

Key Points of Post:

• China doesn't want to buy junk from the rest of the world and there are even government policies against it
• Chinese prefer new latest technology products and equipment
• China can produce much of what it needs to outfit its factories and buildup its infrastructure

Low-Price Buyers Drive Poor Chinese Product Quality

A Personal Theory on Chinese Product Quality
It's time I write down some thoughts on Chinese product quality; it's something I have said many times but it has never made it to paper (guess this blog doesn't count as paper either). Generally, speaking the quality of a large and growing number of products produced in China have achieved international quality standards