China rising: Its private firms set sights on rest of world

deseretnews ^ | March 16, 2008 | By Justin Pritchard

[Flavius]

Amid the torrent of clothes, electronics and toys surging out of China comes a little-noticed export: international companies.

For centuries, individual Chinese have sought their fortunes abroad, creating Chinatowns around their restaurants and shops. Now, Chinese firms are going global, pushed by a government turned capitalist, pulled by untapped markets and armed with bundles of money from a thriving economy back home.

Auto plants are popping up in Latin America. A sprawling commodity bazaar promises a provincial Swedish city new life. A car parts distributor is snapping up ailing companies in the U.S. Rust Belt, a TV factory hums in South Africa, and a high-tech firm is landing contracts to revamp the Persian Gulf's telecommunication networks.

[gondramB]

This plan will go a lot better if they don’t slaughter a horde of Tibetans in the next few days.

[oldbrowser]

It’s a tidal wave of super charged capitalism coming at us and we better quit crying and get busy competing or we will be swamped.

[Flavius]

yes we better get cranking on opening up those sweat shops

[Sandreckoner]

— “”What’s scary to think of is when they marry cost consciousness with U.S.-style just-in-time inventory management,” says Charles Freeman, a China specialist at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies —

Just-in-time inventory management is more of a bane to Chinese manufacturing at this point than a boon.

Typical “China rising” piece, though. Start off with signs of the coming sea change, go for a few paragraphs detailing this, then calm the winds a bit by pointing out problems that Chinese companies have encountered, then bring on the gale by transitioning from the serious problems they may face to the fact that they’re solving them all, learning, adapting, taking their knowledge back home to hasten and strengthen their economic foundation on a march to global dominance.

The only thing missing from this piece is the waffle near the end of the article, usually a cite by someone giving a “not all is lost for America” style comment as the fake out, followed by the slam-dunk last line of the piece to convey the idea that though not all may be lost just yet, it’s set in stone that it won’t be the case for long.

[Cacique]

btt

[joe.fralick]

"yes we better get cranking on opening up those sweat shops."

My reaction exactly. We're being told to join the race to the bottom. Is this the only choice we have?

[Flavius]

yes i agree

however this was the first article i came across showing where the paradise they have at home, is now ready for world consumption

[Flavius]

no you can start a hedge fund

f’up then ask the joe taxpayer to bail you out

but dont call it welfare cause your cool and wear a tie

[uncbob]

You can thank all those Anmerican businessmen who couldn’t wait to run to China for this

[oldbrowser]

yes we better get cranking on opening up those sweat shops

It's capitalism and sweat that built this country.

It's socialism and freeloaders that are dragging it down.

[indthkr]

"we better quit crying and get busy competing or we will be swamped."

I agree! First we're going to form a State-Supported company that will transform a chunk of your neighborhood into a new factory that will produce counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

We'll get started by sending a goon squad into your community with clubs to evict the current owners....but don't worry...you will all be invited back to work in the factory and live in the company dorms (with a "small" paycheck deduction). Be sure to bring your own water and a face mask....this factory won't have any of those pesky environmental controls!

[oldbrowser]

We'll get started by sending a goon squad into your community with clubs to evict the current owners....but don't worry...you will all be invited back to work in the factory and live in the company dorms (with a "small" paycheck deduction). Be sure to bring your own water and a face mask....this factory won't have any of those pesky environmental controls!

They are in the "robber barons" stage of their development, but they will evolve just like we did. Meanwhile they will eviscerate our foreign and domestic markets. Helplessly crying "it's not fair" is a waste of time.

[iopscusa]

Chinese Private Firms, now there’s an oxyMORON!

[indthkr]

"They are in the "robber barons" stage of their development, but they will evolve just like we did."

That pretty much sums up the delusional thinking of The West's China apologists and Free Market Fundementalists.

Evolution always takes place in the presence of a Selection Pressure. In the U.S., that Selection Pressure is substantially defined by the rule of law as defined by The Constitution. The same constitution that enables the existance of multiple political parties (hence political competition) and the maintenance of individual rights and liberties (including the right to bear arms).

The end of the "robber baron" stage in the U.S. was enabled by the orderly (as opposed to revolution or uprising) exersion of political pressure that was, and still is possible in multi-party political states like the U.S., and other Western countries.

China will certainly continue to evolve, but it's current path, as defined by a single party political system with no universal individual rights (backed by their "Constitution"), and a merchantilist economy, looks a lot more like Nazi Germany than a mature democratic capitalist society.

[oldbrowser]

China will certainly continue to evolve, but it's current path, as defined by a single party political system with no universal individual rights (backed by their "Constitution"), and a merchantilist economy, looks a lot more like Nazi Germany than a mature democratic capitalist society.

Capitalism is the root of economic freedom which is necessary for democracy according to Buckley. The capitalist Chinese are replacing the failed policies of the socialist Chinese. That will inexorably lead to Chinese democracy. Nazi Germany had centralized planning which is characteristic of socialism and the opposite of capitalism.

[steelboy]

Nazi Germany’s economic system is “national socialism”, not capitalism.