New jobs are coming, and not exactly from where you’d expect. The China-based Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group opened a brand new factory in Wilcox County, Alabama. The new factory will employ more than 300 workers in an area that use to employ thousands in textile mills and furniture plants. But apparently, this Chinese-owned factory in Alabama is not the only one of its kind.
China has been known for decades as a world destination for cheap labor. U.S. companies more often than not employ Chinese factories in order to maximize profit margins. What many might not know however is that China has invested $14 billion into the U.S. just within the last year. As a whole, China employs 70,000 Americans across the country.
A narrowing wage gap and a steep decline in U.S. energy prices are just a few of the reasons why China has began operating in the United States. They are also being received with unabashed enthusiasm all across the nation. Southern states often offer lower labor and land costs, and tax breaks have created greater incentive for Americans to pair up with Asia’s greatest superpower.
This past March, Dothan, Alabama, hosted a two-day conference aiming to persuade Chinese business to invest in their city. Chinese glassmaker Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. has already announced plans to reopen a close factory in Moraine, Ohio. Once up and running, the factory is expected to employ around 800 workers. Another Chinese company, textile manufacturer Keer Group, has plans to invest $218 million into a factory producing industrial yarn. This factory will employ an estimated 400 workers.
It seems that China’s economic relationship with the U.S. is already changing. For the longest time the U.S. has been the buyer, and China the producer. Now it seems the Chinese no longer want to do the manufacturing inside their own country. Chinese labor costs have risen 187% in the last decade, compared to the U.S. which has only risen about 27%. The cost of energy in China has also increased substantially compared to the U.S. For whatever the reason though, America should welcome the Chinese employment, the country can certainly use it.
Comment Template