A report published this week should prompt the West to shake off any last shreds of complacency over China’s role in the global industrial landscape.
In the face of the rapid manufacturing growth of China, we in the West have frequently comforted ourselves with the thought that while we may not be able to compete with low labour costs, our research base and strength in intellectual property (IP) will assure us a place at the top industrial table for many years to come.
This may have been a compelling enough argument ten or fifteen years ago, but the cracks in this defence have been visible for some time now.
And while genuine concerns do persist about Chinese businesses riding roughshod over IP, the country can no longer be characterised as an entirely unregulated manufacturer of cheap alternatives. Boasting sophisticated operations in almost every area of industry – when China isn’t the only option, it’s often the preferred option. And with many Western businesses foundering on the rocks of recession, its relatively recession-proof economy is offering a potentially life-saving route to market.
A report published this week by Thomson Reuters – claiming that China’s research output far outpaces research activity in the rest of the world – should prompt the West to shake off any last shreds of complacency over the country’s role in the global industrial landscape.
Detailing the shifting patterns in global research, the report points to a huge acceleration in China’s research output – with the 112,000 research papers published in 2008 representing a doubling in output from just four years ago.
The report goes onto to predict that China will topple the USA as the world’s biggest researcher within the next decade and that it no longer depends on links to G8 partners to fund knowledge development. When Europe and the US visit – it says – they can only do so as equal partners.
For anyone still wedded to the notion that the West holds all the cards when it comes to research and development this is probably faintly chilling news.
But we prefer to view it as a powerful reminder that if economies such as the UK are to prosper, then increased collaboration with China is essential.
Jon Excell
Deputy Editor
Well if we don’t do something about how the UK government views science and engineering, then we can always fall back to being a low cost labour source for China (that’s if we still have any industry left!)
Collaborate with China – fine! However, whether you’ve noticed it or not, China is insisting on continuation of Kyoto Agreement for the Copenhagen Conference. In other words it seeks no cap on its CO2 emissions. Part of the House of Representatives Bill included sanctions on countries that continue to expand the emission of CO2 . Will Britain join this road to Trade War, or will we join China in dumping this anti-development rubbish.
At last ! Someone extolling the virtues of dealing with China ! I have worked in engineering within and in collaboration with Chinese companies for over 12 years and have seen a massive change in supplier capability in that time. IP protection is always a concern for any manufacturer of a specialist product or any company with an innovative idea, however Chinese manufacturers who have been vetted and visited by the person sourcing will readily sign confidentiality agreements and so on and the courts within China are taking more of a dim view on patent and copyright infringements. As is always the case it is ‘buyer beware’ but providing the right rules are followed and a ‘sensible’ approach is taken, China can provide the quality and consistency required of virtually any product at the right cost, which is more to the point in difficult times.
Greater collaboration with China, in the case of the plastics recycling sector, will ultimately benefit both the environment and all partners in the manufacturing supply chain. UK plastics reprocessors need to strengthen links with their Chinese counterparts. Given that around 70% to 80% of the UK’s plastics which are collected for recycling are actually exported, then developing stronger trading partnerships is key if we are to improve both the quality and the proportion of recovered materials used in new goods – many of which are manufactured in Asia. Huge amounts of various types of plastics are exported to China because sufficient recycling capacity does not currently exist in the UK to recover these materials economically. Partnership processing with our Chinese colleagues has to be the best way forward in terms of reducing environmental impact and increasing global levels of material recovery.
Keith Freegard
Axion Polymers
We are a UK manufacturing company (70 employees) and have been buying parts from China for the last 5 years; we would not be competitive without doing this. We have set up our own office in Shanghai (WOFE) to source parts and sell our finished products in China but we still assemble the majority of them in the UK. The fact is that you can buy the branded good quality parts you get in Europe much cheaper in China. For small to medium quantities, assembling in China does not make sense as it takes 2-3 times the UK assembly hours and the quality is not as good. Our experience is that most Chinese companies prefer not to buy and distribute products manufactured in their own country as they recognise that the final product QC problem is not fixed yet!