Oct 17 - 46/45 - McCain +01
GM - An Alternative Perspective From ChinaA response to Sigalow's General Motors post
- Mike Zelin is an op-ed writer for The Chief Source. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Business Administration, he currently lives and works in Shanghai.
As a follow-up to IanÂs insight on GM, it is quite a different story in China. General Motors is one of the largest, if not the largest client of ours in Asia Pacific. We handle all of their real estate transactions whether it is an office premises for executives or an industrial plant to build auto parts. If I was void of access to the NY Times and other forms of US media, I would believe that the car behemoth is making boatloads of cash. Here in Shanghai alone, they are going through massive expansions. It is almost weekly, that we get word of a new large office requirement to house an expanding business unit or GM auto group. Funny enough, when GM initially announced their massive layoffs last month in America, I was actually meeting with them that very same day to discuss a 30,000 square foot expansion space they needed for their financial wing.America, my mother country and the land I love (imagine me singing that), wake up to China!! It is not a mystery that companies like General Motors are choosing labor in Chengdu rather than Chillicothe, due to low cost and an endless supply of labor. America has tried to combat this by instilling protectionist trade barriers while attempting to dictate Chinese Economic policy. As China rises further, and it will, our influence will lessen here. It will continue to forge relationships and increase trade with other nations (China has recently taken over the U.S. as JapanÂs number 1 trade partner). US politicians can either continue to use China as a scapegoat in their constituencies, or embrace/accept globalization and enhance trade negotiations, not hinder them. I believe that the fate of American jobs will increasingly depend more and more on our alliances with Asia. We better start getting proactive, and make a few.
On another note, Mayor Don Plusquellic will be in Shanghai next week to try and attract jobs/industry to Akron. I am going to try and arrange to meet with him and will make sure to update the Chief Source right away!!!
By Kyle - 11/23/2005
10 Comments:
I'm confused how we make the poor working conditions, dirt cheap labor, and government run industry of China work for the U.S. economy?
It seems to me that our role in this whole thing is just to be the market for these cheap goods as we slowly transfer our wealth over to China. They produce, we consume... that sounds like a bad forumla for the long run.
Great post Mike. I agree wholeheartedly. Kyle, it's not a zero-sum game. China produces the things that China is better at producing than we are, not only do we benefit from lower prices, but we can better allocate our resources on producing other things/services. The poor working conditions is an entirely separate issue.
I love this guy!
We are so wrapped up in our "this is a race to the bottom" rhetoric, that we fail to realize that the rest of the world, and especially China, do not see it that way. for them this is a race to the top.
Kyle, you see crummy working conditions there as an unworkable scenario in the USA, and you are right, but their conditions are far better than the were a couple decades ago, and continued trading with china will create an even more productive economy and eventually China, like the USA, will have corporations that must compete over the countries human resources, and that is how working conditions could (and should) improve.
The USA needs to open its doors to the global economy, and at the same time, release its ever tightening grip on the private sector, so that both china and the USA can grow more productive together.
I agree 100% with Mike and Jeff.
Great post, great comments. I can't wait to see how this all turns out 50 years down the road.
I appreciate Pete's comment that economics is not a zero sum game. I don't think like that and I need to.
until chinese workers are allowed to unionize, until china has environmental standards we do, and until china allows there currency to float we should not be "free trading" with them. you guys are INSANE! it is a race to the bottom and that is not rhetoric. the only reason we have any jobs left is that the american worker is the most productive in the world. a chinese worker doesn't even know what the part he makes evryday ultimatly produces - the american worker is often running 3-5 complez machines at the same time.
free trade with china is not fair. i don't believe that the workers of this country should be reduced to selling the rich cheeseburgers and chinese tv's at wal-mart. fuck you guys. you have no idea what the other side is like.
I am curious as to who wrote this post above.
I have a few questions for you:
1) Have you ever been to a Chinese factory?
2) How can you claim that the American worker is the most productive in the world
3) What would you say if China elects to trade with other countries who have less restrictive policies, and decreases trade with the US
Thanks,
MZ
not sure why that anonymous was so mad, but i get the idea that free trade with China may not be fair trade.
However, it is not fair for the US to demand harsh environmental standards from growing nations, when the US did not have to face those barriers.
(solution: financial incentives to obey environmental rules)
Also, agreed, US is NOT the most productive
Finally, Zelin, what is to be said about China trading with others?
Good point, but that is why the US needs to work with other advanced nations on this. However, when the US currently (via the GOP) mocks International Law/treaties, then we will have a tough time negotiating. But a true diplomat may be able to forge a deal for all.
(by the way, thanks for the insightful post)
Anonymous was right about one thing, american workers are the most productive in the world, but that statistic is per man hour, not hourly wages. But everything else he said was retarded.
China is beginning to embrace capitalism, and it won't be long before the invested capital in china creates the necessary conditions for an extremely productive chinese worker. They aren't heading for the bottom, they are heading for the top, You can cover your eyes and scream "THEY'RE TAKING OUR JOBS, I TELLS YA" all you want, and meanwhile China will bite into our market share around the world while our economy stalls due to overregulation and retarded trade barriers.
Oh, and by the way, what the hell is "fair" trade?? Trade isn't a sport, it is simply an exchange of goods and services agreed upon and for the mutual benefit of the buyer and seller.
"Fair" trade is about respecting the citizens affected in both countries, not just business interests.
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