Job Discussion Forums

[Jared]

hmm

[stillnosheep]

Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

While you one-man campaign to rid Canada of Chinese businesses, 'defeat' the Chinese economy (you and just whose army?), and rid the world of the communist menace may make perfect sense in the confines of your own bedroom unfortunately you may have to overcome one or two tiny obstacles to make it work in practice:

Increasing Taiwanese investment in the mainland kinda makes it difficult to find Taiwanese alternatives to mainland imports that are not mainly manufactured on the mainland.

Capitalism requires that manufactures locate where materials and labour are cheaper if they are not to be out-competed, which, at present, means China.

It's not just 'Chinese' businesses that manufacture in China but many many multinationals. Increasingly Chinese money is being spent buying huge stakes in foreign (ie non 'Chines' companies) so your purchases of non 'made in China' products may well be of goods manufactured by a company backed by Chinese money.

China is probably less communist than Canada at the moment, perhaps you should instigate a 'buy Chinese, not Canadian' campaign if you really want to defeat the red menace.

But good luck with your campaign to 'grab the roots of Chinese businesses' and 'get them out'. Do let us know how it comes along.

[Jared]

[clark.w.griswald]

stillnosheep makes a good point.

For Taiwanese to boycott 'Made in China' products they would be boycotting their own produce as so many factories in China are owned by Taiwanese business people. May be somewhat counter-productive.

[pest2]

I think Jared has the right spirit but the wrong observations and courses of action.

China is the least-communist-like country I've ever travelled to or lived in. The divide between rich and poor is the most extreme. Outcomes in China could not be less equal. For someone in Canada to attack China for being a threat from the left IS kind of funny.

(However, if you speak to Chinese people in places like Shanghai, they hold that extreme capitalism is a necessy condtion to generating the kind of economic power needed to make the country socially stable, first. Then they claim to be able to more to the left later. Personally, given the size and chaotic, selfish nature of Chinese people -- especially after the cultural revolution -- I cant imagine it will ever happen that way)

What IS true is that in terms of earthly harm and economic and physical detriment to many other countries, China is like a giant cancerous tumor. For thousands of square miles, the geographical space into which China is placed is torn apart and shredded with overpopulation, eco-unfriendly mining projects, massive damning projects, unregulated pollution at every turn.

Furthermore, because of China's cheaper production costs, companies from around the world go there to hire Chinese slave workers to make finished goods at 1/4 the cost. This comes at the expense of jobs in many other countries and the risk that as the over-populated masses of China become per capita wealthier, the economies of all other countries will become substantially weaker. Also, there are obvious security problems involved for everyone as the world goes back to a dangerous multipolar political climate and probable next cold war that follows.

China's economic plan follows the same lines as those set by the Asian tiger economies: Set high tariffs on incoming goods, try to sell its own goods for less. Create massive net trade revenue.


The first problem is the economic one. We need to get our governments to create retributive trade tariffs against China and only against China and other countries that establish these kinds of aggressive trade policies. We can tax goods produced by any company inside China, regardless of whether that company is Chinese or not. We can make laws that prohibit outsourcing jobs to Chinese firms. We can put trade restrictions the kinds of goods we import from China (dont believe it? try living in South Korea for a while and see how much Korea does this to other countries). To win this battle, we need to find a way to overcome self-interested corporate greed at the policy-making level.

The best strategy about China now is vote for elected officials in your own country who will fight with aggressive economic policies.

[MomCat]

[Jared]

hmm

[Serious_Fun]