
Samsung to halt production at its last computer factory in China - whalesalad
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-china-pc-idUSKBN24X3K4
======
phkahler
>> amid rising Chinese labour costs, a U.S.-China trade war and the blow from
the COVID-19 pandemic.

Do companies think about the military situation over there?

~~~
runawaybottle
Wait ... Chinese labor is now also too expensive? Give me a fucking break
already. What do these people want, slaves?

I leave this here:

[https://www.theonion.com/jeff-bezos-tables-latest-
breakthrou...](https://www.theonion.com/jeff-bezos-tables-latest-breakthrough-
cost-cutting-idea-1824144898/amp)

~~~
api
China hasn't competed on labor cost for a while. They now have the largest
concentration of manufacturing and tooling skill in one place.

Cheap labor seekers are going to cheaper parts of India (but that won't stay
cheap for long), Africa, Indonesia, etc. Africa is establishing some kind of
union to reduce concerns about stability, and if that works we will see the
80s-90s in China repeated there.

Someday there won't be any large pools of cheap labor left. Unless automation
is much cheaper by then, we will see massive inflation in manufactured goods.

Also: if Africa industrializes and we don't have cheap fossil fuel
alternatives, we should just start moving Miami and building the New York Sea
Wall. Another half billion to billion people will be joining the new global
middle class, and after centuries of colonialism Africa is not going to listen
to Westerners asking them nicely to stay poor so we can meet a CO2 target.

~~~
hlfy_hn
China's strength was never cheap labour.

1\. Educated people (most former communist countries have fewer analphabets
than the US)

2\. Tons of people

3\. Infrastructure and clustering.

4\. The political will to move forward.

You won't see this in Africa. India is possible but unlikely.

~~~
hlfy_hn
Nut sure why this is also downvoted. Feel free to disagree. I have a PhD in a
STEM field and live in China. I think my opinion has some value.

~~~
waterheater
Currently doing a PhD in a STEM field in the USA.

I think your points are generally right but vastly oversimplifies the
situation.

>1\. Educated people (most former communist countries have fewer analphabets
than the US)

Literacy != education. In the USA, we used to talk about the 3 R's: reading,
'riting, and 'rithmetic. That's the base level. I would equate education with
higher-level thought processes developed in college. Re communist countries:
yes, this is where communist control can be effective, but it also stifles
creative thought (are you really sure the state's education regime is
correct?)

>2\. Tons of people

Certainly helpful, when used correctly. Definitely drives the cost of labor
lower, though (simple supply-demand relationship).

>3\. Infrastructure and clustering.

To an extent, sure, but the infrastructure development is more a consequence
of the large amounts of people. Also, you get more bang for the buck when you
build infrastructure there because so many people now live in population
centers.

>4\. The political will to move forward.

This is the primary point I would say is wrong. We have plenty of political
will in the USA. However, we also have much clearer legal separation between
private and public companies. The CCP holds a very different view on how
private companies should exist. We in the USA theoretically can block
companies from operating in certain countries, but we choose to not do so in
most cases. Liberty is much more protected in the USA, which may hurt short
term but works best long term.

As to your projections:

>won't see this in Africa

I presently agree, but no one expected China to do as well as it has 50 years
ago.

>India is possible but unlikely

As China and India continue their border clashes, they will grow more distant.
I expect the West to align with India than China, given than Indian values
more closely align with the West.

~~~
hlfy_hn
"Literacy != education."

Irrelevant for many jobs. What to do with people who can not read?

"Certainly helpful, when used correctly. Definitely drives the cost of labor
lower, though"

Why should this be the case? The labor is probably lower in Benin. Yet, nobody
moves there.

">3\. Infrastructure and clustering. To an extent, sure"

No. In fact there was a study from a business school that showed that this is
the most important point about China. Clustering. All the suppliers and sub-
suppliers that can work hand in hand.

">4\. The political will to move forward. This is the primary point I would
say is wrong. We have plenty of political will in the USA."

As a immigrant in both systems and a naturalized US citizen I tell you that
this is not my impression.

~~~
waterheater
>What to do with people who can not read?

They can do jobs which don't require high literacy rates. Farming is such an
example. The USA has plenty of Mexican immigrants who don't know English yet
are still highly capable at performing manual labor.

Also, as a counterexample to your point about former communist states leaving
higher literacy rates: a Marxist-Leninist state existed in Benin until 1990,
but they still have one of the lowest literacy rates in the world [1].

>Why should this be the case? The labor is probably lower in Benin. Yet,
nobody moves there.

The principle is just supply and demand. If you increase labor supply and keep
demand stable, the cost of labor decreases (on the other end of this spectrum,
tight labor markets drive wages higher).

But considering why Benin isn't the manufacturing powerhouse of the world
(with only 11.3 million people) is tightly coupled with political realities.
For example: does their country need those manufacturing jobs? CAN the country
support those jobs? Apparently cotton is 40% of Benin's GDP and ~80% of their
official exports. Political instability in Africa generally hurts all other
African nations. Perhaps the African Union will help them [2].

>All the suppliers and sub-suppliers that can work hand in hand.

Oh, clustering is highly effective. There's plenty of clustering in the USA as
well. That said, the CCP has much more control over all industries, so they
can force clustering with greater ease. Ascribing economic success to
clustering oversimplifies the broader context.

>As a immigrant in both systems and a naturalized US citizen I tell you that
this is not my impression.

Well, as a person born and raised in the USA and surrounded by hard-working
immigrant family members, I attest otherwise. Mainstream news in both China
and the USA is manufactured and does not reflect the reality of how people
feel. People here want change, and it's coming.

Sources:

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin#Education](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin#Education)

[2] [https://au.int/](https://au.int/)

