I remember as a little boy having a tin car made in Japan. This was the late fifties and Japanese products were not high on most people's want lists. We know where Japan stands today--its cameras, to name one example, being the best in the World. Toyota and Lexus are proud examples too, of how a nation seeks perfection in technology.
To get to the point, the other day I looked at some of the electronic products I have in my home and it was quite a revelation, I can tell you: Most were made in China , even those with well-known American brand names. Here are a few:
My Benq camera is made in China.
My Motorola SLVR mobile phone is made in China.
My computer monitor is made in China.
My Kenwood coffee maker is made in China.
My Hewlett Packard 1020 laser printer is labelled:"Product of China"
My Akai television (a Japanese product), has Chinese components.
My kettle comes from China.
And then, the other day, a very flash car passed me: It was a Brilliance from China.
I think that the days of "cheap junk" have passed. China is very much a major player now in World economics. Quality is improving and top companies are siting factories there for reasons of economy. We had better watch out, for China could undermine and overtake the whole electronics and automobile industry within the next ten years . Volkswagen Germany is very worried, right now, as their labour and component costs cannot match those of the Chinese.
It is possible that a major Chinese assault on the World motor industry could threaten GM and Ford even more than the Japanese have done. I hope not but never under-estimate the Chinese.