Rising Costs and a Stronger Currency Hit China’s Manufacturing Competitiveness

A terrific article here from the FT which highlights the effect of rising wages and a strong currency on manufacturers in China. The supporting video below is also golddust for students wanting to build their understanding of how the economic competitiveness of China is changing.

Low-end manufacturing, which helped drive China's economic growth a decade or so ago, is now slowly moving out of China or moving inland (away from the higher cost coastal regions). Other emerging markets such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Malaysia are taking up the slack for the production of products at the low end of the value chain (e.g. textiles, shoes).

The challenge for manufacturers in China is to move up the value chain - and many are taking up the challenge!