In article <rcousine-AB523D.06502206122
...@news.telus.net>, Ryan
Cousineau <rcous
...@sfu.ca> wrote:
> > Well, generally speaking, it's enough to flood the region (mainland
> > China, specifically) with a torrent of FDI; and capital, supposedly,
> > always seeks the highest rate of return. How long can it continue?
> > Luke
> See Japan, postwar rise of. Or Taiwan, or Korea. Basically, it continues
> until a combination of rising wages and skills in the country
> effectively puts them out of the global low-end manufacturing business,
> but into more skilled, more valuable specialties. With Japan, it meant
> they stopped manufacturing cheap electronics and stamped-tin trash and
> became suppliers of good electronics, cameras, automobiles, bicycles,
> and so forth. Taiwan similarly faced that pattern, to the point that
> while they produce many good, high-end bikes (Giants, most notably, but
> a great many other non-crappy bicycles are built there, regardless of
> the nationality of the company that designs the bikes and puts their
> name on them), they are now facing serious competition from China for
> the Wal-Mart end of the market. Korea is similarly making the transition
> from making terrible cars and commodity electronics to better cars,
> desireable mobile phones, and HDTVs.
<snip>
More in my mind when I posed the question was the nature of North
America's commercial relationship with the Asian tigers - (with China's
emergence onto the global economic stage, a more accurate term would be
elephant!) For Japan, Korea, Taiwan - the post WWII success stories you
allude to - the existence of, and easy access to the greatest consumer
market in the world, the USA, was crucial to building their industrial,
export driven economies and laying the foundation for affluence. That
it was an explicit aim of American foreign policy to encourage these
economic ties with the intent of fortifying strategic alliances also
fueled their rise as economic powers.
The reality now is that the USA, in terms of relative wealth and
economic clout, is not what it was a half century ago. How long can it
continue to reprise its roll as the globe's most insatiable shopper? At
some point the bill has to come due.
Luke
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