Get this.
“It is difficult to comprehend fully the phenomenon of China’s massive growth. China is now the number-one producer of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens and TVs. It manufactures 90 per cent of the world’s toys, 70 per cent of photocopiers, 50 per cent of cameras, 40 per cent of microwaves, 30 per cent of handbags and suitcases and 16 per cent of clothing.
China annually consumes 47 per cent of the world’s cement, 26 per cent of steel and aluminium, 33 per cent of iron ore and 22 per cent of copper. China was a net exporter of oil eight years ago, but today it is the fastest-growing importer and the second-largest consumer. It is also the world’s number one consumer of zinc, tin, rubber, cotton, wheat and, not surprisingly, rice.
The Washington Post estimates that 80 per cent of the 6,000 factories in Wal-Mart’s supplier database are in China. There are now about 130 cities in China with a population of one million or more, against only nine in the US. The Chinese are building 50,000 miles of motorway, the equivalent of the entire US interstate network. It took the US 40 years to do this – the Chinese plan to build theirs in five.
Most people in China and India have no electricity, so their demand for energy should continue to grow rapidly. In addition, Chinese car production doubled during the past four years and there is still plenty of growth potential. China graduates 325,000 engineers a year which is five times the number in the US. English is China’s second language; in the US, just 50,000 students are learning Chinese. Most important of all, the average labour cost in China is just 4 per cent of that of the US, which has never before had to deal with a competitor of such size and dynamism.
In comparison to China, Europe is a joke. Its politicians fiddle while its industries burn. They continue to tinker with a rapidly increasing number of bureaucratic regulations, coupled with demands for a shorter working week and further employee benefits… ”
– Investor’s Chronicle. 10 February 2006.
So yeah... 