Apple's labour practices have been under the spotlight a lot this year since a monologue by Mike Daisey published by the podcast This American Life gained widespread interest and led to international protests against the manufacturer of the iPhone and iPad. The monologue was eventually retracted after This American Life found Daisey to have fabricated numerous details in his report, thanks to the investigative work of Rob Schmitz, China correspondent of Marketplace. more ›

The wildly popular US podcast This American Life has retracted the story by monolinguist Mike Daisey in which he details abuses by the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen which manufactures Apple products based on interviews with employees he claims to have met. To listen to the mp3 of "Retraction", This American Life's episode dealing with Daisey's deception, click here. more ›

In Apple CEO Tim Cook's keynote presentation at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco Tuesday, he responded to complaints about working conditions in Chinese factories and notes how these would be improved: more ›

In 2010, China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest economy and most experts believe it will only be two or three decades before it becomes number one, officially making the U.S. it's bitch. As shown in a recent article by 24/7 Wall St, China has already surpassed the U.S. in a number of industries that America is traditionally considered to be the world leader - you can view them above. more ›

"Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad", a new piece on the notorious tech manufacturer Foxconn by David Barboza and Charles Duhigg of the New York Times, was translated into Chinese and published in Caixin, one of the leading news weeklies in China. They've compiled and translated a list of the reactions by Chinese readers to the piece, which split along the usually lines of tacit acceptance and finger-pointing. more ›

Chinese manufacturers are increasingly "faking" popular Indian products of consumer goods giants such as Dabur and ITC, undermining the legitimacy of brands and causing losses worth as much as $5 billion annually, officials said. more ›

The practice, along with capital punishment, are merely two of the most visible examples of how China's justice system stands apart from other countries. Though there have been talks of labor camps getting shut down, no official move has yet been made, with recent news also suggesting that labor camps have now at least developed an ironic sense of humor. more ›

A new report from the Economic Policy Institute calculates that America has lost 2.8 million jobs to China in the past decade, with 70 percent coming from manufacturing. 24/7 Wall St. has listed the top ten states that have lost the most jobs due to the shifting rules of global commerce since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. more ›

Now that China has become the world's largest car market, Chinese government officials pursuing quality instead of quantity to make the next great leap forward. more ›

It looks like the scourge of suicide at Foxconn continues unabated: a 21-year-old Foxconn employee fell from the sixth floor of a factory dormitory in the Longhua district (龙华) of Shenzhen on the 18th. Foxconn is of course the infamous manufacturing giant that produces iPhones, iPads, Xbox's, Playstation 3's, and not to mention products for other clients like Dell, HP and Nokia. It is the third suicide this year, following incidents in January and May, and the 18th since the beginning of 2010 (other sources [in Chinese] have the number lower, at 16). more ›

Here's one good reason why you should never be too adventurous with condoms in China -- buy only brands that you are familiar with! Nothing is known, unfortunately, about where this video was shot.
more ›

“The iPad is produced in China. It's not produced here in the United States. So the Chinese get to take advantage of our First Amendment value to provide freedom of speech through the iPad to the American people, but there is no protection of jobs here in America.” more ›

Huh! A Chinese owned company has set up a factory in America? What is with this crazy role reversal I hear you ask? According to Fortune Magazine, it has started to become cheaper for some Chinese companies to set up large plants in America than it is for them to set the same sized plant up in Shanghai. American Yuncheng Gravure Cylinder plant, Chinese owned, bought the land in Spartanburg, USA for $350,000, one fourth of the cost for the same sized property back in Shanghai or Dongguan, where the company already has factories. As the yuan continues to rise in the days ahead, we're sure this will not be the last we hear of Chinese companies saving money in this way. more ›

Zhejiang car maker Geely is in the headlines this week for its acquisition of the loss-making Swedish auto manufacturer Volvo. The deal could turn out to be a win-win situation -- Geely could turn around the Swedish premium brand on the back of rising demand from a strong Chinese market, and Volvo, with its reputation for safety could help lift Geely's brand in global markets.
more ›

Though it was inevitably bound to happen, China officially surpassed Germany as the world's largest exporter by actually increasing their exports for the first time in fourteen months, which is no small feat in the beleaguered global economy. China's ascension to the top of the global supply chain came after official statistics were released for December: impressively, China managed to increase their exports by over 17% since this time last year. And while we can't imagine ever doubting the government's statistics, we have to wonder: with all this economic turmoil, exactly who's buying all these new goods? more ›

After all the excitement surrounding Disney's future theme park in Shanghai, it seems that the Disney corporation has come under domestic fire for their seedy manufacturing conditions. A group of students from Nanchang university interviewed more than 100 workers at at five Disney factories in Guangzhou, and compiled their findings in a report titled "Mickey Mouse is no longer cute." Top on the list of complaints were frequent accidents, poor safety standards, and reduced wages for workers. Thinking about underprivileged, limbless workers really does take the cuteness out of those plush Disney toys, right? more ›

Yes, indeedy, change is coming to the US of A and people, you'd better believe it! If Sen. Nancy Jacobs, Sen. Barry Glassman and Del. Wayne Norman, three Harford County, Maryland Republicans, have their way, it is soon going to be ILLEGAL to sell an American or Maryland flag made outside the country (ie., China), and all flags displayed on state property must be manufactured in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Said Sen. Nancy Jacobs to the Baltimore Examiner: "It just seems rather unpatriotic to be buying flags made in China... It's important to a lot of people. Basically, I'm happy that this starts the conversation on buying American." She proposed the general prohibition because she was asked to by "a good friend of mine who happens to be a union leader and who believes very strongly in buying American products." According to the Flag Manufacturers Association of America, the US imports about $5 million worth of flags each year, mostly from China. The association boasts of a wonderful programme that certifies that every step of the flag-making process -- fiber, dyeing, weaving, sewing, staff-making -- is completed in the US so that bored inmates at the Maryland Correctional Enterprises have something to do. Addendum: Adam Minter of Shanghai Scrap writes in to inform us that as of late 2007, it's been illegal to sell Chinese-made US flags in Minnesota. Here's what he wrote last year. more ›

Danwei directed us to the embedded six-month old video of a short local NBC News piece on a Chinese-made three-wheel "car" available from a dealer in Webster, New York (it's actually available in several places in the U.S., like Michigan). The Webster dealer (we think this is his MySpace page ... yes, MySpace) claims women love the Wildfire WF650-C. The jury is still out on that one. more ›

Ramadan, Islam's holiest season has just begun, and as Muslims around the world begin a month-long period of prayer and fasting, manufacturers across the Middle East have little reason to smile as they find themselves edged out with increasing numbers of Chinese producers flooding their markets with products that are cheaper and better than their own. Adding salt to injury is the fact that many of these products are symbols of their own cultural and history. Gulf News reports that made-in-China Ramadan lanterns are all the rage now, much to the chagrin of traditional Egyptian craftsmen:

Since walking into the vocation of lantern-making more than 30 years ago, Ahmad Abdul Gafour has been attached to Ramadan. more ›

more ›