Will Warnings About the Safety of Chinese Products Reduce China's Dominance in Global Manufacturing and Trade?

No, the warnings about specific Chinese Products will not change the current situation. They will dominate the global manufacturing and trade. The reason for the Chinese dominance is multi-factorial; for example:

1. Purchase power of people: The low minimum wage, increased taxes, inflation, and rising gas prices are driving the cost of living high. Whether we like it or not, if we are to still save for future, go on a trip or maintain our lifestyle, we have to look for deals where we can save money. That is where the Chinese Product line gets the advantage.

2. The cost of goods: Here in the US we have established the fair law that ensures a minimum wage. We have employers' as well as employees' rights established. Most of the employees, no matter in which company they work, get health, disability, and life insurance on top of other benefits. This is an excellent achievement. That is why America is the greatest. However, it cannot be denied that the same positive elements result in increased production cost. Therefore, the US companies cannot provide its own people affordable goods in many instances. I am not recommending denying the employees their benefits to reduce the overhead cost; but let us be realistic. Other countries in the world do not have the same limiting situations and can afford to produce for less cost. They will always be able to market their products at a competitive price and the US companies will always lose the battle. Especially, the population explosion in China has resulted in such a situation where "cheap labor" is getting cheaper. People will do the oddest, hardest and weirdest possible jobs for the least amount of money or even goods (just a meal or two in some cases) just to make their ends meet. We (especially, Lou Dobbs of CNN, since he is on the wealthy side of the equation) get(s) upset with the outsourcing of jobs by the US companies; but they are just trying to survive the competition. We have to understand that only the number of low-end jobs is going down because of outsourcing. If they hadn't been doing that many more people would lose the purchase power and that would have led businesses to layoff people or file for bankruptcy, eliminating all (both high-end and low-end) job positions. When the economy of a country is directly dependent on consumerism, the businesses have to find a way to make their goods cheaper to maintain that customer base. Therefore, the fact is that we know why it is happening, but that is the way it is. The cheaper Chinese products have already dominated the global market and it will stay that way. We should now focus on not ruining it further for ourselves. We cannot afford to bicker with the rest of the world on political, social and business issues because we need them for our own healthy economy. Our businesses need those educated and developed societies that would value good quality, suave products. In this world, even if we are the "Super Power", and even if we don't get along, we do need each other.

3. Consumer behavior: The mere fact that we get great bargains at the dollar stores, which carry mostly cheap Chinese products is a lucrative option for some. Not all of them are oblivious to the fact that there have been health issues associated with a few products. Of course, they will avoid buying those specific products, but will still fill up the aisles of the dollar stores. Some of these buyers do it electively, but the majority, as I explained before, do not have any other option but to resort to that. Most of are living in the US....yes, the "Super Power", that is the global leader. However, the reality is that all the people of the US are not rich. They will always go to the market that will provide them with affordable products, and the Chinese products meet that demand.

4. The consumer acceptance of Chinese products: A nation that relies heavily on disposable items cannot change its outlook overnight. When we talk about the lack of durability of Chinese products, it may not concern all buyers the same way. For many, buying an item for a dollar or two even if it lasts only 6 months does not feel alarming. That is because on an average it entails spending only $0.16 - $0.33 per month. Therefore, such buyers are treating these products as disposable items. They will say: "if it breaks, just get a new one."

5. The appeal of Chinese items: Whether we like it or not, Chinese products bring variety and uniqueness. So many products that they market demonstrate their innovative ideas. Most of us would never have come up with such simple and at times weird items. We get amused with those and buy those at least once to try out. That is what they need to thrive. It is true that we long new experiences; and when it comes to buying products to satisfy that natural human curiosity, we want to do that at an affordable price. Chinese products capitalize on that. So, there is no end in sight.

After boring you with such a long discussion I will again say that no matter what China's dominance in global manufacturing and trade will prevail. Many of us may not like that, but we will have to deal with it.