China’s Days as the Globe’s Low-cost Manufacturing Center May be Numbered
A recent Wall Street Journal article asserted that China may be losing its cost advantage in manufacturing:
China’s leaders are moving to shift the economy away from its traditional reliance on low-end manufacturing and heavy investment spending, seeking to build a stronger consumer base at home. A breakdown of Wednesday’s figures suggests a tentative move in that direction: While foreign direct investment in manufacturing contracted by 6.2% in 2012, investment in the service sector excluding the property market rose 4.8%.
“We know we can’t keep relying on a low-cost competitive advantage. We need to accelerate the value-added upgrading of our products,” said Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang at a news briefing Wednesday.
The full article is here. The video below has an overview of the situation.
