[sparkscoffee] Re: Chinese investments No. 3
- From: "" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "sblumen123@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
- To: sparkscoffee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 20 May 2014 19:53:08 -0400 (EDT)
Scotty
In your four brilliant posts you neglected to mention that China is ruled by
iron fisted communists.
Comrade B
-----Original Message-----
From: Dry Turtles <dryturtles@xxxxxxxxx>
To: sparkscoffee <sparkscoffee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tue, May 20, 2014 7:13 pm
Subject: [sparkscoffee] Chinese investments No. 3
Why ‘Made in Ethiopia’ Could Be The ‘Next Made in China’
China’s was once known as cheapest factory floor on the planet, but in the last
two decades its economy has transitioned to become one of the world’s most
advanced industrial powers. That means someone else needs to start making all
those shoes and sweatshirts, hence all those apparel companies in recent years
moving their factories to Vietnam and other cheap spots throughout Asia.
And it’s not just Asia. China’s Huajian Group plans to invest up to $2 billion
in Ethiopia in the next decade, turning the country into a shoe manufacturing
base for exports to the U.S. and Europe. As the WSJ’s Peter Wonacott reports:
Mounting labor costs in China are part of what makes Africa so attractive. The
average monthly wage for a low-skilled Ethiopian factory worker, for example,
is about 25% of the pay for a comparable Chinese worker, according to the World
Bank. As the wage gap widens between unskilled Chinese workers and their
counterparts elsewhere in Asia and in Africa, as many as 85 million factory
jobs could leave China in the coming years, according to former World Bank
chief economist Justin Yifu Lin.
In addition to its pool of low-cost labor, Africa represents an enticing market
for Chinese products manufactured on the continent. Africa is now home to six
of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies, according to the International
Monetary Fund, and many African countries are reducing their dependence on
extracting resources, such as oil, metals and gems.
Africa’s poor infrastructure and uneven distribution of skills erode its cost
advantages, however. The World Bank study estimated that a Chinese worker
making shirts, for example, could produce about twice as many per shift as an
Ethiopian worker.
Chinese factory wages have been rising an average of 20% a year for the last
decade, pushing low-cost manufacturers toward places where salaries are
stagnant. Here’s a chart the WSJ put together last year:
And as China steps more prominently into Africa, what do its officials say in
response to suggestions the country could act as a new form of colonial power?
In an interview with the WSJ, Chinese ambassador to South Africa Tian Xuejun
had little time for such claims:
Some media say China assists Africa only for the market and resources, and they
talk about “neocolonialism,” but I say these kinds of criticisms are absurd.
One reason is that they don’t know much about China-Africa cooperation. Another
reason is maybe that they have other agendas.
China has assisted in the building of infrastructure, roads, bridges and
railway stations. This has greatly improved the investment environment in many
African countries. China has invested in manufacturing and sent agricultural
experts to other countries. China also has helped to build many hospitals,
schools and stadiums.
People are talking about neocolonialism but what is neocolonialism? People in
Africa know very well about colonialism—this is about using gunfire to open the
door to Africa to grab their resources. It is China who buys resources with a
fair price under internationally recognized rules.
Scotty
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