Many companies have made the conclusion that China is just not worth the cost and have moved to other countries like the Philippines . Its appeal has slowly decreased as it was alleged that China intended to steal patented inventions and use their patented inventions , later shutting them out using protectionism .
So is there any way that China can regain the manufacturing prowess they once had ? No , definitely not . A lot of Chinese startups have made huge disruptions in the market . Smaller companies came into dominance in their own isolated market .
China cannot sustain its own economy with only manufacturing , as with any economy trying to do so . Short-term plans like lowering import tariffs and increasing manufacturing robotization will not work . Other areas with lower manufacturing costs and jobs that require robotization are being set up in the US , like Tesla and SpaceX . Backwards vertical integration between headquarters and manufacturing departments means that communications are much more efficient and the origin country ’ s government will be likely to introduce financial support for those who bring the manufacturing back to their own country .
Of course , that ’ s not even including the numerous protectionist trends in America , China ’ s largest trade partner . The current president of the United States has made it clear that he wants domesticate manufacturing processes . Since his party has a majority in Congress , it is extremely likely that this will be enforced .
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Thinking back to what I had learned about China ’ s industrial journey to the West , it was so mind-blowing as I stood face-to-face with the facility . It is happening right now . It is the evolution of a whole country . It is the embodiment of China ’ s technological development . To the untrained eye , it is simply a huge factory , but looking deeper one would find that it is the R & D centre of the second largest manufacturer of Android phones and the biggest technology company in China . It represents the possibility of the modernization of China as a whole , of a future separate from manufacturing . Huawei now sells products in the mainland while gaining positive recognition in the West-- its journey to the West has certainly proved a success .