I had to write this essay in response to an “TheGueardianWeekly” article published in 2006. Find a copy of the article here.
For the sandal wearing end of the population Christmas has always been a great opportunity to fret about all kinds of so called “inequalities” and “imbalances” that are just as visible during the rest of the year, but are being picked up by keen reporters especially around Christmas. May it be children in Africa or exploitative work practices in less developed countries far away.
The article “Christmas is coming – all the way from China” is another example for this annual sorry affair. First the article mentions a container ship loaded with Christmas goods from China. Like an unstoppable apocalyptic rider the ship is coming closer and closer to fortress Europe. Ready to dump its bloody load, a product of inhuman exploitation and brutal slavery at our doorsteps. Or so the mainstream press tries to make us think. What they don’t tell you is that this mysterious ship is owned by the Danish Mærsk Group, number 138 of Fortune 500. They also don’t tell you how much European companies and consumers are gaining from trading with China. Those gains don’t only come from cheaper goods consumers are able to buy (which keeps inflation lower than it otherwise would be), but also from a greater diversity of goods they can choose from. Without international trade our life would be a lot poorer. Just imagine Christmas without (Vietnamese) tea, (Japanese) Playstations or (Korean) mobile phones. Pretty dull, isn’t it?Next the a article mentions the growing UK-trade deficit with China, which is mainly a result of an artificially low RMB. This exchange rate imbalance is very expensive for China to sustain and has already started to adjust, though Chinese authorities have chosen the slow path here because they want to give their domestic producers a chance to adjust to the new market conditions, ie less competition on price and more on quality and technology.
The article also makes the point about workers being exploited in China. Of course it’s tempting to believe that the poor Chinese teenager who stitched one’s trainers falls on his simple bed of straw after working for 15 hours in a row. Though the reality is different. Just ask any European who works in China and is responsible for any kind of human resource management. They will tell you that China has the world’s most competitive labor market, especially for employers. In most so-called first-tier cities like 上海 (Shanghai)，北京 (Beijing)，å—京 (Nanjing) or 广州(Guangzhou) wages are already reaching international levels. More regions are likely to follow soon, as producers who rely on cheap labor inputs move further inland. Employers are willing to switch their jobs for wage differences as little as 10 $US. Such a dynamic labor market is unimaginable in labor union-driven Europe.
Last I’d like to pick up the question, whether people consume too much at Christmas. Here the answer is a definite “yes”. Though I don’t personally believe in Jesus and his it seems to me that this “heavenly day” is more an excuse to buy useless crap in a pre-Christmas shopping spree, mainly caused by clever marketing.
My main recommendation here is to question any established prejudices carefully and take everything with a pinch of salt, especially before the Christmas holidays.
Merry Christmas.Â
I just finished reading a really great book, you probably haven’t heard about yet. It’s by Timothy Brook and deals with the upcoming issue of globalization and all its various aspects.
