From China…with love! Photo (C) Ibrahim Chalhoub
For those who have expected that China will one day invade the world, they will be highly satisfied to find their speculation coming true. Perhaps, this incursion didn’t happen by force, which seems to provide a smooth welcoming entrance to the different spots of planet Earth.
Check your clothes, your children’s toys, your different accessories, your phone, your laptop…try to view the machines producing items you would never think they are, by any way, related to the Far-East. Look around you. You have been gently conquered by Chinese products!
Scroll through the page to explore the different aspects of Chinese production in the world.
Check your clothes, your children’s toys, your different accessories, your phone, your laptop…try to view the machines producing items you would never think they are, by any way, related to the Far-East. Look around you. You have been gently conquered by Chinese products!
Scroll through the page to explore the different aspects of Chinese production in the world.
Accessories and toys
Hair style for less than a dollar! Photo (C) Ibrahim Chalhoub
If you live in Lebanon, step into a toyshop and get a glimpse on most of the available toys. Or check out accessories like bracelets, necklaces, rings, hand watches, and hair accessories. They’re mostly made in China.
Other countries on the same continent as well as on others are not far from that phenomenon.
Other countries on the same continent as well as on others are not far from that phenomenon.
Clothes
United colors…of China! Photo (C) Ibrahim Chalhoub
If you live in Australia, go to buy some clothes from most of shops. Get a glance at the tag. Where was the skirt made?
In the United States, check the country of origin of many of the boots.
How many come from China?
In the United States, check the country of origin of many of the boots.
How many come from China?
Electronics
Stay cool with Chinese ventilators! Photo (C) Ibrahim Chalhoub
Third world countries are flooded by Chinese electronic items ranging from ventilators to mobile phones. Prices are too low that almost anyone can change his/her mobile once a month. Televisions made in China, microwave ovens, DVD players, as well as other items flood the markets.
Manufacturing machines
If you were not in contact with a manufacturing plant, you may not know how many sophisticated machines are Chinese made. Whatever the manufacturing field might be, buying a production or packaging machine from China is highly beneficial. Some textile manufacturing plants bought three production machines for a single line for the price of one Italian apparatus. Imagine producing three times as fast with at least a third of the cost!
Car spare parts
You have a German, French, or American car? Got a highly regarded brand? Is it time you change an element in the electrical circuitry or in the mechanical parts? Do the breaks need to be changed? All of these items and more could be found tagged with a made-in-China mark at prices highly competing with European produce.
Pharmaceuticals
Multinationals headed to sub-contracting in order to reduce the cost of their products while maximizing on benefits. Renowned pharmaceutical companies rely on the production of raw materials as well as parts of pharmaceutical drug products by Chinese companies. Packaging is no less important, but this phase could be left for other areas of the world in regions nearby the intended markets.
Why do Chinese have the knowledge?
Simply because of what you might not know! Again it all happened through sub-contracting.
When an American or a European expert goes to China to train a team in the production of certain items, members of the team are primed into specific skills. They don’t need much time to master them by continuous manufacturing of the items they learned to produce for the brand they have been trained by. Now they can produce their own products with similar quality without the costly brand name and enter the market at competitive prices. One should keep in mind the huge number of the Chinese population and low wages of China’s manpower.
When an American or a European expert goes to China to train a team in the production of certain items, members of the team are primed into specific skills. They don’t need much time to master them by continuous manufacturing of the items they learned to produce for the brand they have been trained by. Now they can produce their own products with similar quality without the costly brand name and enter the market at competitive prices. One should keep in mind the huge number of the Chinese population and low wages of China’s manpower.
How to make a good work with China
Therefore, when it comes to production, if you have a contact in China whom you can rely on, you could get your own product manufactured in as much quantity as you need during the minimal possible time and at lowest attainable prices.
What your Chinese contact usually does is that he goes to one of the villages meeting with necessary people and providing them with requirements of the production of your items. There are families gathering and working day and night to finish your request as fast as possible to be able to move on to the request made by someone else. Thus, items are finalized in no time and in large quantities. You only have to name what you want!
One should be careful, however, to specify the requirements of quality, which could be breached by the Chinese contact if you don’t have constant contracts with.
What your Chinese contact usually does is that he goes to one of the villages meeting with necessary people and providing them with requirements of the production of your items. There are families gathering and working day and night to finish your request as fast as possible to be able to move on to the request made by someone else. Thus, items are finalized in no time and in large quantities. You only have to name what you want!
One should be careful, however, to specify the requirements of quality, which could be breached by the Chinese contact if you don’t have constant contracts with.
The other side of the story
On the other hand, some non-Chinese merchants purposely request low quality products in order to maximize on benefits. They call it “intelligent rapid gain”. They ask for a specific item produced at lowest possible quality and flood a third world country with their product. They sell everything in the shortest possible time while preparing another low quality completely different product for the next market rush, and so on. The items will be purchased by consumers despite the quality issue which could barely be hidden for a day sometimes. “It costs nothing, we could buy one everyday”, consumers would say, while traders hypocritically fill their pockets.
This is not the case with developed countries sub-contracting in China because their consumers are generally willing to pay for a better lasting quality and markets are governed by stringent governmental quality requirements and constant check-up.
This is not the case with developed countries sub-contracting in China because their consumers are generally willing to pay for a better lasting quality and markets are governed by stringent governmental quality requirements and constant check-up.
Now, what do you think might not come from China?
Did you check items in your surrounding by now? Make sure you do especially if you live in a third world country. What did you find?
Check out the video below by Russia Today about China’s new aircraft carrier.
Check out the video below by Russia Today about China’s new aircraft carrier.