CHINA is beginning to experience the downside of its remarkable economic success that has meant that many of the products from toys to computers to clothing are “Made in China”. Protests have been raised, principally in the United States that quality control is extremely poor. Some 18 million toys made for Mattel in China have had to be recalled because they are faulty.
US legislators have called for inspections of all Chinese imports and suggested that US companies think of sourcing their production elsewhere. If this is the start of an anti-Chinese campaign, it will not be long before the Americans will bring up the issue of intellectual property rights. There is a growing number of cases where products ranging from computer chips and aircraft parts to exclusive clothing designs have been pirated in China and the fakes marketed as the real thing.
While there is justice in these claims, American reaction to these latest revelations will be informed by growing US unease at Chinese commercial dominance and an anticipation that within the next decade Beijing will start to challenge Washington’s military hegemony in the Pacific. America has a fine record of criticizing the protectionist trade practices of other countries while going to considerable lengths to protect its own industries including agriculture, aerospace and agriculture.
Nevertheless, it is clear that China does have to look to its quality and safety standards. The health and safety record in its mining and to a slightly lesser extent, its oil industry is appalling. Nor are its civil engineering standards satisfactory. This week’s collapse of a road bridge, apparently constructed without steel reinforcement, will be particularly embarrassing for a country that is now less than a year away from staging the Olympic Games. Of course the Americans are in no position to crow about bridge collapses, having experienced their own spectacular bridge disaster in recent days. In both countries regulations exist that are supposed to prevent such disasters and in both countries it seems, officials do not enforce the rules.
There is another falsehood to US protests at Chinese quality standards. In the final analysis, it is up to the American company that has contracted to have the goods produced abroad, to ensure the required quality standards are met. The blame cannot lie exclusively with the foreign subcontractor. That no less than 18 million faulty toys should have been produced without anyone noticing, suggests that Mattel was not overseeing the subcontracting process properly.
The Chinese will be annoyed that this issue has been broached at this time and will probably rightly suspect that there is a strong political element to these US protests. The Americans ought to be the last to protest protectionism and poor construction standards in others. However, the US is not China’s only customer. The rest of the world, including Saudi Arabia, has a right to expect that China will supply it with goods that are always fit for purpose. China has proved that it can manufacture a vast range of products. It now has to establish the confidence that it can do this with consistent quality.
