Chinese manufacturing

Poorly made

Why so many Chinese products are born to be bad

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Readers' comments



While, I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, I think it is important not to forget that the buyer of the product and the brand that stands behind it must not shirk responsibility for ultimate quality and reliability. When I buy a Lexus, I expect it to be "perfect" or nearly so, I don't care where it was manufactured or by whom. Lexus takes responsibility for delivering that experience to me; if they want to save a dollar, a yen or a yuan by assembly part of it in Shanghai, so be it. If my car is bad, I need to blame Lexus not the people of Shanghai or the company in Shanghai whom Lexus did not manage well enough.

"Good" products are hard to produce and the brand needs to be ever vigilant. Many good products come from China or India or any country. So do many bad ones.


PS: Take a look at the following link for fact-based comparisons between China, USA and India on a number of parameters:



"While I'm here, might as well share my personal favorite product horror story - the soy sauce made from hair."


It doesn't bother me.

You might be having human hair food product everyday.

Find another 'horror' story next time, if you want to 'talking bad' of things Chinese made.

Perhaps a pic of 'a nail (made in China) on YOUR head'?



If you ever have had any experience to see US importer buyers in action, who try to knock a third to a half off what's already incredibly low Chinese manufacturing prices, you really have to wonder who's victimizing whom and who's the real culprit here? On top of that, the orders usually come with very strict delivery deadlines with substantial financial penalties if not delivered on time. In the meantime, all you (the factory owner) want to do is to keep your poor (rural) migrant workers employed and your company to have that needed cash flow to survive another month even though you know the orders produce no profits.

I think the poor quality of "SOME" of Chinese made products is a result of a vicious circle in which people in the developed world are chasing after ever lower product prices so people can demand ever higher and un-sustainable living standards, that enable some to do very unproductive things such as house flipping, stock speculations, financial engineering, and a wide variety of get rich quick schemes. This vicious circle has no end in sight. The fact is no one is willing to pay more than one dollar to a Chinese producer for something an American or western retailer expects to sell for $10 in the US. The expectations are simply unreal!

I don't condone SOME of the Chinese producers' wrongdoings but I wonder when the Chinese can have their chance to tell their side of the story; most often, terribly sad stories, of having to work for peanut so people who are fortunate enough to live in the West can live comfortably.

That said, Chinese made products take up probably a huge percentage of all the day to day goods that we consume and I don't believe we are unhappy to the same extent. We may even be VERY happy with many of the normal goods that we consume without even noticing that they are Chinese made. I'm using an HP branded PC which is Chinese made, transmitting my comments through my ISP who probably is using Chinese made but Cisco branded telecommunication equipment, in my study which is also air-conditioned with a Chinese made conditioner that has been running very smoothly for years with absolutely no problems.

Let's be reasonable, be fair and NOT be racist even when we vent our legitimate dissatisfaction with "SOME" of the Chinese made goods.


When the author of the book starts with "born to be...", I would say most likely he is racist;

When he stings a leading sentence of the book like "Why so many Chinese products are born to be bad", without giving a clear definition and standard of what is "bad", and providing a comparable analysis in percentage term of what is this "many", I would say that most likely he is illiterate measured by book-writing standard, an illiterate "consultant"-turned author then;

When he puts the book name as "Poorly Made in China" without giving an objective statistics multi-country survey of price-quality satisfaction analysis(in which China is a clear winner, otherwise there would be no such a thing as Made-in-China exist in the first place), I would say that he is most likely ignorant.

So basically I am wasting my time here to debunk a likely racist, illiterate and ignorant author. So I try to make it straight forward, easy and short:

1. No question that some of Made-in-China products are sub standard. Considering most (more than to 90%) products that people in the world consume on a daily basis is Made-in-China, you really should say "Thank you, China, for the quality goods you provide". It is because that it would be world-wide riots and revolutions long ago against made-in-China, if the most goods she produces were not up to the standard.

2. Always, Always take about quality together with price. Quality-price is one word, not two! "With price you buy quality" - a common knowledge for any importer/exporter. Indeed in most Made-in-China cases, what West consumers suffer in quality is what the West importer/wholesaler/retailer's gain in profit. In other words, you got substandard products sometimes because of your own well-calculated decision by paying substandard prices. No free lunch at the end of the day, remember?

Ironically, the author blames Made-in-China poor quality, and laughs at the cheap prices at the same time, while shushing about some outrageous poorly-made but highly-paid products - Wall Street and London financial products. Therefore, apart from being suspiciously a racist, illiterate and ignorant, the author is most likely a hypocrite.

==== Panda@War ====


The easiest way and by far the best way to deal with all that poorly made goods from China is for EVERYONE in the world to gather all his and her possessions that has with a made/assembled in China labels on it and trash them all, and to promise him/herself NEVER to buy anything made in China again.

That would be a noble gesture to protest against a country make 'products are born to be bad'. Call all your friend to encourage them do the same, write blogs to encourage others to follow your noble lead.

The problem comes when you want to contact your friends, as you just trashed your mobile phone (including your iPhone); as it was made in China, as most of the mobiles in the world, they were made in China. Well, it would not be easy to find a computer either, as you just trashed your Apple MacBook...

Music could be the last refuge for all those who hate 'poorly made Chinese goods' well, we may have to go back to gramophone records, as you have trashed your iPod! And smashed your CD player...

Another problem is the television... It just goes on and on...

So may be its time for the Western world and some of its inhabitants to grow-up; China bashing have not worked thus far, and is unlikely to work in the future. Go to China and see for yourself, try to understand China, as it is not going to go away any time soon. So you mind as well try to make friend with China, China will welcome you as a friend, unless you are a Japanese or Chen Shui-bian supporter.


Just read news about beef product recall in the us. How possibly? It just tells ‘things’ happen in the MOST developed nation/country, that, policy/science/manufacture/hygiene failure happen, it happens every day.
Those who (personal/media) keep making negative assumptions (propaganda) of Chinese national/food quality should be acknowledged ‘POORLY MADE’ stuff in their own countries before launching racial/national attack (though I agree propoganda is, by far, a very useful tactic, see the made of wars on terror, and notably, how John Kerry’s election case to Bush. Sorry American), coz, in 21 century people know how to get a clearer picture by retrieving different sources from the public domain.
Hazardous animal feed can be traced back 1986 when first diagnosis of BSE in the UK. It was notable, the spread of BSE, although have not been 100 percent confirmed, was via mammalian protein animal feeding, sourced in UK. Unfortunately, the advanced science/medical/political organisations still not be able the contain the mad cow, therefore we see reports of US beef ban from many countries, for example, protest in S Korea, but the public voices were silenced by its OWN government.
Strangely, similar case happened in the US
Is BSE the UK only product? Of course not. See economist:
Not the article Mad Bullying Disease that critical but the reader comment. On April 2, 2009 at 16:25 poster flounder9, provided links of facts for the US beef industrial hidden secret, which is not known to the ordinary world for its low MSM cover. The detailed page listed what kind of stuff (growth promotants?) for the beef industry…
The latest in S Korea:
See how US comment on the Asian countries which do not want their beef-
‘unscientific restrictions on U.S. beef’
Even the American mistrust the domestic beef. What can you say?


Recommend a book

Manufacturing Consent
The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Edward S.Herman & Noam Chomsky

With a new Afterword.

Good for brain.
Help the readers to distinguish propaganda from journalism(reporting)

Johnson Chen

I think we should realize and understand the modernization of China only started twenty years ago and more time should be required. China still need to perfect its legislation and laws, leaving less holes for crime in manufacture.Less insult, more understanding.

Lin Yan

Disclaimer: I haven’t read this book, but have read this great review.

Chinese products are famously cheap, so it’s unfair to expect them to have the same quality as Japanese goods. The problem is, quality of Chinese goods seem to decline over the years. I understand that “quality fade” refers to short-term deterioration, and to make issues worse, a long-term deterioration may also be on the way. For example, my dad’s local produced watch is much more durable than mine; my grandma’s sweater is more refined than the cheap stuff I buy on the street; and the cheap wine my grandpa used to drink does not contain the tinge of industrial aftertaste like it does nowadays etc. The question is why can’t China, after 30 years of reform, manufacture more refined products?

All Chinese problems are complicated by nature, and this one is no exception. Like all complex issues, the causes are multifold. Lack of transparency is probably part of it. I don’t know if this book describes how transparency can be implemented to improve QC in Chinese manufacturers, but even if there is a practical way to make things more transparent in China, I doubt it will be very efficient, and efficiency is highly valued in modern China.

One of the comments here mentioned the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Backward. Among the multitude of negative effects of these movements in early PRC history, one of the results is the destruction of existing Chinese social contract. This can somewhat explain why laws and rules are so often disrespected and even disregarded today. This thus leads to shoddy factories and poorly made goods.

Also, there is a long tradition of the “cha-bu-duo” mentality in Chinese culture, and as this will need a long explanation, I will just skip it here.

Another possible cause may be the sheer size of Chinese population. If this does not seem apparent, just consider the fact that more than 10 million people enter the job market every year. China’s structural employment problem is phenomenal. While this helps keep prices down and supply abundant, this can also prevent factories from quality improvement simply because of the fierce competition for lower costs.

Last note, while China certainly is not the only country in the world to have QC problems, there is no doubt the overall quality of Chinese goods are far worse than goods produced in Japan. America and Japan may well have had the same problems years ago, but this book is about China, not America. Wouldn’t we all benefit from a world factory with better QC?



I don’t think common Chinese look down on Indian or any other countries, but I agree with you sometimes young Chinese throwing mud back to Indian here may make people think like you, given currently China economy looks better than India. Personally I like Indian culture, such as their music and dancing in movies, beautiful, I like them more than many of Billboard Hot 100

Sorry to hear Chinese students overseas frustrate you, I can not judge as I don’t experience that, but applying it to all Chinese is not objective. I also have some very very bad experience with S Korean, Indian and Europeans during work, but I don’t apply it to all folks.

You also implying mainland Chinese are huge less honest than other Asians, I don’t know what to say, at least huge contrast to my experience! I see people anywhere equal in any aspect!

Regarding ‘why do you think everyone is suddenly targeting Chinese products and there are not Taiwan bashing or S. Korean bashing”, I must admit to criticize some products of China made makes sense to certain extent, but do you think geopolitically China is in the same position as Taiwan or S. Korea? Do you know China has huge trade surplus against US and EU? Do you know there is a thing calling trade protectionism, and a propaganda calling China Threat?
No offense. Have fun!


Mr. Middler hits the nail on the head. I have been to China several times and seen some of the factories. The final assembly plants owned by foriegn concerns where the pro forma "quality control" is performed are typically well kept affairs, while the piece work is farmed out to a vast network of smaller subcontractors with individual specialties, which is where the real abuses occur, like it or not. It's the same anywhere in the world, the scale of China's manufacturing makes the scale of the abuses and problems proportionately larger than, say, El Salvador.
As for why I continue to do business there - simply put, it is much easier to manufacture for $3.99 per piece in China than the US, and here's why:
NO OSHA, low prevailing local wages, exceedingly good transport facilities, entire organizations devoted to helping me get my goods from China to the US - including filling out the requisite Customs paperwork (!), and no unions. If it is to be made in China, I can send a prototype to my middleman there, and then I pick up a container in Long Beach 2-3 months later, everything prepriced and ready to go on the shelf so that the box doesn't have to be opened from Xiamen until it hits the store in suburban Illinois.

youngblood80 seems that many seem to take my comments very personally. I can even see some very childish insults towards me. When I was doing my masters degree, a quarter of the international students were Chinese. I had absolutely nothing against them at the beginning but the general consensus towards the end was that it was very hard working with them in teams since they often did not show up or contribute or left early...and these were supposed to be some of the best and brightest.

The Chinese work ethic, like that of many other countries in the region, is something to value. But a generation of spoilt, only-children is degrading that seriously. In business, the Indians, whom I assume the Chinese look down upon judging from some comments in other threads, are much more respected and considered quite honest despite their famous untimeliness. When Taiwan and South Korean goods were swamping Western supermarkets and toy-shops, they were considered cheap but of good quality and reliability. There was virtually no Taiwan banging or Korea banging. But why do you think everyone is suddenly targeting Chinese products? Is it a politically motivated conspiracy?

Oh, and a famous brand product made in China being of good quality means the owner of the brand usually made painstaking efforts to reach that quality.

Btw, I'm an Asian living in Europe and I've been many times to China, Korea, Philippines and Japan. And yes, there is a huge difference in the percieved honesty in the peoples.

tell truth

there is no need to argue some chinese manufacturers are trying to cut corner to save cost. Milk scandal involved some high ranking officers who was helping to cover up. Milk scandal was connected to corruption problem which is always a big headache to Chinese government. pollution & corruption are two most serious problems in China. I wish China will find the ways to over come those problems. I want to point out "Amercian investment product Poorly made". Amercian also suffer servious credibility problem due to present finanical crisis. impact of this crisis will be long lasting.


Mr. Midler, you sound like a man with an axe to grind. The matter is much more complex than you attempt to portray it: there are some excellent Chinese products, there are good ones, there are mediocre ones and there are some that are shoddy. You focus on the latter as if the other ones did not exist. That is unfair. You might have written this book for either one or all of the following reasons: (a) ran out of clients in China because of this current downturn; (b) your negativity got on the nerves of some Chinese and they started shunning you; (c) had difficulties with a Chinese girlfriend; or (d) wanted to make a quick buck riding on anti-Chinese prejudice, alas too prevalent in the United States. You might have succeeded in this respect, and I have no doubt that not many will notice that you are too green and inexperienced to judge a complex environment like China, especially when unfavourably prejudiced. A degree in Chinese language, culture and history does not help, even if you lived in China, if you built it on a negative mindset.
Everybody knows by now that the Economist LOVES to find fault with everything Chinese, hence their eager promotion of your book. Now that the world is in a real crisis foisted on it by the Wall Street banksters and reckless US consumers, anything that would deter people from buying from China would be welcome by some competitors. Like your book.


"Sushi restaurant owners are mainly Japanese..."

So I think they are pretending mainland Chinese to 'fool the unknowledgable Western client' so as to sell more 'cheap commodity foods'

The reason is that: here came the recession the business started to deteriorate, they have to cut price for more customers,but with lowering budget they couldn't maintain that many workers,and the good food quality...consider the japanese have 'good reputation for quality and cleanliness',
they decided to pretend Chinese!

Or any other national they think lesser!



p.s. only few people can afford real diamonds. But most can afford fake diamonds which just look the same. The ratio of the rich and the poor is 1% - 10% vs 00% - 90%. That's why Wal-Mart Rocks

I can only afford to go into a real Japanese restaurant once or twice a year. If I want Japanese food, I usually buy in in a Supermarket. And believe me, the Chinese, or Korean, or Thai do a much better job than any Supermarket in making Japanese food.


The myriad of Chinese-owned Japanese restaurants in Europe are usually as good as the cheap Chinese restaurants: sub-standard. A person with minimal knowledge of Japanese cuisine would not dine there. What has happened is that they have made Japanese cuisine (and now Thai and Korean) cheap commodity foods, much as they have done with their own cuisines, just an alternative to McDonalds.

A Chinese fluent in english is not pretending to be American: a Chinese owner of a Japanese restaurant is pretending to be Japanese to fool the unknowledgable Western client. I'm pointing out the irony of this given the general Chinese attitude towards Japan. Once the reputation of Chinese restaurants started to deteriorate (rightly so), instead of trying to improve the situation by cleaning up their act, they decided to exploit another country's cuisine that has a good reputation for quality and cleanliness.


Then why the Japanese don't cut their prices or to create some affordable "real Japanese" Japanese food chain to serve the low income masses? If the Japanese don't do, then someone else will fill up the gap because there is the need.

Chinese don't not pretend to be Japanese, although many Europeans and French people can't tell which is which just like many of the orientals see all Caucasians are the same. What those Chinese do, I believe mostly likely, is just to cook Japanese style food cheaper to feed those who can't afford to eat in the expensive Japanese restaurant. The Chinese willing to work for less. "It's the Economy, Stupid."

p.s. There are many cheap Japanese restaurant in the US too. LIke All "You Can Eat Sushi" etc.. own by the Koreans or Thai people.


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