From the Readers

China as technology provider

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-07 07:54

These days there are lot of frank talk in the Chinese media about the income disparity in society, low wages for migrant workers and strikes in some factories. These are welcome signs for a country that was considered a closed society until a few years ago. A healthy discussion followed by actions by authorities are the need of the hour.

Even if wages increase, and they are bound to increase in developing countries, China would still have a strong manufacturing base and excellent infrastructure compared to other countries and need not depend on other countries for many of the machineries to develop products.

Having said that, China should graduate quickly from making commodity items to manufacturing specialty products using its innovative skills and knowledge, and command better prices for its products rather than selling them cheap.

This was the approach Japan took some years ago and now it is able to make branded products for which people pay higher prices. In the long run, China should focus on becoming a technology provider to even developed countries instead of remaining just a supplier to the world.

R.N.K. Krishnan, via e-mail

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(China Daily 07/07/2010 page9)