>what's to stop Chinese firms from, in time, simply selling direct
>and cutting Wal-mart et al out?)
Let 'em try. You can disparage WMT for not making anything, but man can they run a supply chain. It's amazing how a bunch of good ol' boys, scornful of city slickers and school smarts, managed to put together this formidable machine of distribution and accumulation. It's the evil genius of American capitalism at its most voracious - making a fortune off poverty.
Doug