Quote:
Originally Posted by speakingtohe
I understand that. But the Chinese people I have known in the import business (only two) are as capitalistic as they come. One of them told me that he became a landed immigrant because it was much better for doing business in China to be a foreign citizen. I asked him how money could be made on a 37 cent item, which was what his warehouse was selling to the dollar stores for at the time and go through four channels of distribution. He just kind of smirked. I asked him what the Chinese manufacture made, and he shrugged and said not my problem.
Anyway probably I have gone too far off topic.
Sorry
Helen
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The reason they were so cheap are the efficiencies. Suppliers were all nearby and order quanitities were huge. Workers were plentiful and worked hard. Those days are gone. As I have pointed out in my post above, many factories nowadays don't make money on that 37 cent item. They used to, but costs have gone up so much over the last few years, many low-end producers have closed down or moved to places with cheaper labor and land.
Moving up the food chain now is not necessarily a bad thing for China, few young people want to work in factories, anyway. But it is not an easy transition.
And in general I share your observations, Chinese people are the most full blooded capitalists in the world. Making money is more important than anything else. Which is why they got so far so quickly.