China the World’s Factory
China must be there at most dinner parties today - and I don’t mean the crockery. Almost every topic of conversation or current affair has China as a perpetrator or an instigator or guilty of some crime against the environment or the world’s economy.
When China produced televisions for less than manufacturers in developed countries, Wal-mart was there to act as the agent between China and the US consumer and consumers weren’t complaining. In fact, they saved so much buying a Chinese television that they could afford to pay more off on their mortgages or their credit cards - but they didn’t. No, they went out and bought another television and we all know where that mindset led them.
Where once “Made in China” labels were rejected by discerning shoppers as indicators of inferior products, the joint ventures with China by some of the largest and most respected band names in the world have now given credibility to Chinese products. The quality of products has not changed simply because the company has relocated its factory floor to another country.
Even Scania, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks and heavy transport, has maintained an operation in China since 1965 and boasts over 2,000 of their vehicles on China’s roads. In 1996, Scania started production of buses in China in partnership with Shandong Bus Corp Ltd. In 2007. Scania collaborated with another bus manufacturer to further its bus production in China, which includes school buses. As well as the local Chinese market, Scania has provided buses produced by the Chinese in Chinese factories to Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Great Britain and Australia. But, in each of these joint ventures, Scania has negotiated to maintain management control to ensure the vehicles continue to meet world class standards in performance and reduced carbon emissions.
The only thing that has changed is that the factory floor of established businesses, such as Scania, has been moved to China. So, the developed countries no longer produce the greenhouse gases that are said to cause global warming and rising seas; China is the culprit. China is responsible for most the world’s manufacturing so China should ensure it makes sacrifices and a commitment to cut carbon emissions. This is like arguing that Japan should clean up any residual radioactivity from the bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It’s the businesses in developed countries that are using China as the world’s factory; surely they should be held accountable for the environmental ramifications caused by their manufacturing, no matter where their factories are located.
Of course, many of these companies have accepted responsibility and met this challenge, including Scania, but the rhetoric continues to blame China and wants to make it liable for the environmental woes.
