Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by zero_deg_kevin 1823 days ago
I suspect China is overestimating the strength of their hand. Their economy is dependent on foreign corporations voluntarily choosing to manufacture there. If they start acting like a third-world kleptostate, they'll be branded as unreliable business partners and have to go back to sorting trash.
2 comments

China has the 2nd largest (and according to some sources, probably the largest) consumer market on Earth, and is currently, by a large margin, the largest market for Cars, Smartphones, PCs, Fashion, and a host of other product categories. In 2020, China was the only major country where global corporations didn't see a significant decline in sales growth.

China is also, again by far, the largest e-commerce market and the largest mobile payments market on Earth.

I apologize for sounding like an infomercial, but these are basic economic facts that one would expect a reasonably well-read individual to be aware of. I would advise that in future you get better informed before coming here to advertise your ignorance.

>corporations voluntarily choosing to manufacture there

I'm not sure how true that is anymore. Companies trying to manufacture elsewhere have to cope with 101 issues that increase costs. Everything from JIT logistics not working to lack or workers to uncooperative governments. China is getting more expensive and some low skill work is going elsewhere. But for most companies, setting up elsewhere means prices much higher than the market will tolerate.