Observations on China

In this month’s issue of Inc. Magazine, a magazine geared toward entrepreneurs, start-ups, and growing companies, the focus was on China. In Ted C. Fishman’s article, “How China Will Change Your Business,” he highlighted some interesting points:

• “China will continue to offer American’s more bargains as time goes forward because the vast majority of U.S. imports still come from countries that pay relatively high wages.”
• “A 2003 survey of Illinois manufacturers found that 13 out of every 20 firms face competition from China. Of those affected, 84% state that Chinese competition hurt their sales by an average of at least 17% that year.”
• “If it were a nation, Wal-Mart would now rank as China’s fifth-largest export market, ahead of Germany and Great Britain.”