PLAYING CATCH UP

摘要

The UK is not unusual in having witnessed a decline in manufacturing over the past 30 years, but the scale has been greater than in some other countries. Over the past decade a significant proportion of consumer goods manufacturing has moved to China, which can offer very low labour costs and, consequently, consumer prices. Production of cheap and simple products is still a significant activity, but there are increasingly sophisticated centres of manufacturing. The chemicals complex in Nanjing, semiconductor complexes around Shanghai or the science parks in Suzhou are set up to attract international companies.