> how the record $200 billion US trade deficit with China is not a
> reflection of the decline of US industrial capitalism - a fiction
> shared by demagogic US politicians and parts of the left - but of its
> resurgence since the opening of the Chinese labour market in the
> past quarter century.
What resurgence? The US machine-tools industry is in a coma, GM is spitting blood, Ford can't even keep up with Hyundai, let alone Honda, and Boeing continues to invest in guns while Airbus powers up with the A380.
> Plants in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the former "Asian tigers" as well as to a
> lesser extent, in Japan and the West, have increasingly becoming parts
> suppliers for assembly in China.
The rest of East Asia is also buying lots of stuff from China, though. The Chinese developmental state has been very, very savvy about balancing imports with domestic production.
> migrant laborers, who earn about 75 cents an hour. But so far, Chinese
> companies in these industries have generally been unable to climb from
> basic manufacturing to design work and beyond.
They're climbing alright. China produced $4 billion in machine-tools in 2004, and the US produced $2.8 billion. (Data: http://www.gardnerweb.com/consump/produce.html)
-- DRR