China Inc and the global economy
The book China Inc. by Ted Fishman presents many similar ideas to the text The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. The worldwide economy is becoming affected by growing players throughout the world. The United States is no longer in a league of its own with no competition. More cost effective materials and labor can now be found all over the world, especially in India and China. China is the most rapidly changing world economy. China sells more clothes, toys, and shoes than any other country. China is also becoming the world’s largest producer of consumer electronics.
No other country has ever made a bigger step forward in hundreds of markets than China. Part of the reason for this tipping of the scales internationally is because of China’s population. There are more cities in China with more than one million people than anywhere else in the world. The United States only has nine cities with more than a million people. China’s population is near 1.5 billion people.
The productive might of China’s workers along with their consumer hunger for more is considered to be a huge natural resource. The reason for this huge growth is because of the number of peasants that are leaving the countryside and moving to the urban areas for low wage manufacturing jobs. American companies cannot compete with wages that are as low as 25 cents per hour for producing the same products. Fishman offers a few solutions to the United States to help mitigate losing so much economic development to China. These include revitalizing education in the US, as well as close the world trading gaps