The idea of “cheap Chinese labor” is fast becoming an anachronistic myth. Wages in China have gone up massively over the past couple of decades. When adjusted to local costs of living, Chinese factory workers actually end up with more relative spending power than American service industry workers. Additionally, if we want to use liberal lingo, China now has the biggest “middle class” in the world. The reason why China is still the preferred location for manufacturing is because it has all the integrated supply chains, the infrastructure, the automation, and the educated+trained workforce to optimize production and make it more profitable than even places with cheaper labor costs can.
The idea of “cheap Chinese labor” is fast becoming an anachronistic myth. Wages in China have gone up massively over the past couple of decades. When adjusted to local costs of living, Chinese factory workers actually end up with more relative spending power than American service industry workers. Additionally, if we want to use liberal lingo, China now has the biggest “middle class” in the world. The reason why China is still the preferred location for manufacturing is because it has all the integrated supply chains, the infrastructure, the automation, and the educated+trained workforce to optimize production and make it more profitable than even places with cheaper labor costs can.