What Will Happen When The Chinese Become Wealthy?

Tonight on ABC news there was a story on the opening of a Wal-Mart in China.
It said the Chinese currently have more disposable income than any country in the world…except the US. (Obviously not much on a per capita basis..but there are a lot of people!).

Lets face it…in the coming century China will be the economic power the US was in the 20th century…and the UK was in the 19th.

Given their current form of government and policies, God help us if they decide to be come a military threat.

Chinese labour is cheap and there is plenty of it. But eventually their living standard will rise and so will their wages. So their products will become more expensive.

Then what happens? Will manufacture of cheap goods transfer to say, Africa? What will be the result of the expanding Chinese economy during these next decades?

I don’t think the world is ready for the scale of whats coming. Any views welcome.

if wages start rising there and production gets too expensive.. then there are lot s of other “cheap” places to move manufacturing to, and there will always be cheap places. and when that happens, you’ll find various media blaming their gov’ts for the inevitable when it’s how the global ecnomy works.

[QUOTE=Seafuryfan]Chinese labour is cheap and there is plenty of it. But eventually their living standard will rise and so will their wages. So their products will become more expensive.

By then our manufacturing industry will be just about finished, killed of in part by the Chinese. Then the prices of the Chinese products will soar, as we wont have much choice where to buy from. Now that the Chinese can produce quality as well as quantity, we are in big trouble. A country of 60 million people can’t survive on service industries alone. In the meanwhile our Universities are taking in tens of thousands of Chinese students, many of whom will go back to China to contribute to our downfall.Whats the answer?
I wish I knew, all I know is that I’m afraid for our kids future as the gap between the poor and well off will surely widen.

In the meantime I suggest we all move to China and open ‘English take-aways’ on every corner, whilst there’s a buck to be made. 😮

Good idea, maybe could bring back one of the Stirlings from there with the money earned 😀

In the meantime I suggest we all move to China and open ‘English take-aways’ on every corner, whilst there’s a buck to be made. 😮

Hmmm good point, maybe it will herald the return of good ole’ reliable British industry