|
||
|---|---|---|
| NEWS COVERAGE | ||
| AS CHINA SURGES, IT ALSO PROVES A BUTTRESS TO AMERICAN STRENGTH By Andrew Higgins Beijing Feeds a Giant Appetite In U.S. for Low-Cost Goods
And Borrowed Capital DONGGUAN, China—Frank Lin joined fellow Chinese furniture makers at a hotel here last summer to discuss some alarming news from America: U.S. furniture companies were asking Washington to investigate “illegal” Chinese trade practices and restrict Chinese sales to the U.S. Among the petitioners was one of Mr. Lin’s longtime customers, Virginia-based Hooker Furniture Corp. Mr. Lin’s dismay turned to confusion days later when he received an e-mail from Hooker’s chief executive. Hooker looked forward to an “exciting future” doing business with China, said the message, and wanted to “continue the extraordinary growth we have had in the last few years with Asian imports.” Indeed, thanks largely to the imports, Hooker has boomed. It closed a factory in North Carolina last summer but has boosted profits and dazzled investors with a stock that more than quadrupled in two years. “I just don’t understand what they are doing. It makes no sense,” Mr. Lin said after receiving the e-mail in August. On his desk lay designs sent from America. Lining the wall, newly crafted chairs stood ready for inspection by U.S. buyers. “If they don’t import, they die. They need us. So why do they want to hurt us?” Mr. Lin wondered… …Curbing Chinese imports through tariffs or a stronger yuan would only drive up imports from other countries, contends Stephen Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley. The only real alternative, he says, is for Americans to spend less and save more: “When Americans get frustrated with China, they should look in the mirror.”… … “The whole thing is so goofy it must be politics,” said Mr. Ward, aged 52. “It’s a perfect platform: Wave the flag and whip up the crowd.” Ms. Lanning, 49, who moved to China when factories back home began to close, blamed a failure to face economic reality by American furniture companies. “It breaks my heart to see workers lose their jobs at home, but we all picked up in our late 40s and 50s and came over here,” she said. “This is evolution. You can’t stop it.”
|