Not always, a U.S. consortium (Westinghouse, etc.) has just been awarded a contract to construct 4 nuclear power units in China (several billion dollars US). China plans on building a total of about 25 units by 2020, so there are opportunities there if you are in the right businesses (not consumer goods):

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=no&TICK=WE&STORY=/www/story/12-16-2006/0004492392&EDATE

The U.S. just needs to figure out how to sell what they are good at building to the rest of the world, and not try to compete on low cost junk. U.S. labor cost are much too high to compete on price for manufactured goods, it's time to move on.

Now I just have to decide if I want to spend the next few years working in China. :confused:

There are a ton of oppertunities in China as in most other countries around the world. With China you just need to be very carefull because the government can take your holdings away on a whim.

Thats a pretty major downside to investing in China.

Since I make a great deal of effort to avoid ANY goods made in China, you will find a chinese made car of any kind in my garage over my dead body!:behead:

I agree, at this point the only way to do business there is to go through big U.S. companies. Too much risk to go it alone. I assume that will change in a few years.

I'd just love to buy Chinese real estate, but its a hornets nest to get involved in. Maybe in another 10-20 years the situation will be sorted out to the point that it makes sense.

Some people see 1400 derrick cranes as a problem for some reason. I see them as cha ching$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.:D

LOL, exactly. ;)

It's not a fair competition when the Chinese government keeps its currency artificially low, making Chinese exports even cheaper than they otherwise would be, and when the typical Chinese worker makes like 30 cents an hour or something like that. Try living on that kind of wage here in the US. I'm not saying one should buy American regardless of quality or price. Just saying it's an unfair competition.

Low-end, non-performance VW's are made in Brazil/Mexico. GTIs, GLIs, Passats, R32s, Touareg's are all made primarily in Germany. Transmissions usually come from Japan.

From what I heard, the early MLs had quality problems, but that is mostly old news and not a problem anymore. I believe there are no issues whatsoever with the Alabama facility.

I try to buy American as much as I can but I'm not anal about it. I will not shop at Walmart though.
I have no problem buying European goods. I won't buy from Japan, Mexico, Canada, China. Or any country associated with NAFTA or any Free Trade system that doesn't work.

In the first post it mentioned 7 million new cars a year being bought in China and being the largest growing market. I think that's the reason for American companies setting up shop there. They want a piece of the pie.
The problem with China is their economy is on the brink of collapse. It could go any time really. I'm not so sure I would like to see the ramifications of that. It would probably wind up with us bailing them out.

IMHO Japan did not get into the US car industry because we were making junk. We were actually making some great cars at that time. That was the age of the "Muscle Car". Japan got in because we were building gas guzzlers and when the energy crunch came we were very reluctant to build more economic models.
Also they tried to flood the market with cheap underpriced goods to drive American industry out. But we didn't let them. Thank you Ronald Reagan, I would really like to see that happen today.

Danny

So what should we do, take our bat and ball and go home, or should we develop them as as a trading partner? Is it their fault that the U.S. companies cannot control their cost of labor, and cannot compete in the world market?

News flash: protectionism does not work.

Would do you buy then?

Are you kidding? China has the fastest growing economy and is one of our main creditors. They are lending us money so that we can keep reveling in our over-spending frenzy.

There are no easy answers. I think some compromise mix of free trade and protectionism is the way to go.

Ha! I'm failing to see the connection between buying American and Walmart. That store is all Chinese goods.

There is no way you could possibly avoid buying goods from those markets you mentioned. And what makes it any better if you're buying clothes made in El Salvador or Malaysia instead of Mexico or China?

I bet I could walk into your house and spot a couple 100 "hecho en mexico" items in a matter of minutes.

Nobody can pick and choose which markets they support. It's impossible.

I ordered boots for my 300E front shocks ( coming from world pac), and guess what. They were made in China. I was very disappointed, and I am not going to put these shock boots in my car PERIOD.

:musicbooh

You don't think there are currently "factory" benz parts sourced from China? I wouldn't count on it.