We've watched a lot of Chinese workers while we've been here, and I can tell you, they work hard and for very little money.
The average Chinese worker makes about 200 dollars a month
Artisans can spend weeks working on a single piece, the results can be whimsical like my Buddha friend here, or they can be downright stunning.

Either way, it's clear that we just can not mass produce products more cheaply than the Chinese can. The same way we have lake water in abundance, they have people, and that many people wanting jobs will keep wages low, even with China's current boom which is creating a new level of middle class.

Let's face it, the Chinese have been making goods out of metal and wood and clay for thousands of years. We visited a commerce street in the Old City of Zibo that was 3400 years old! America's last birthday was 231!

What we're learning though, is that American companies can partner here to strengthen the bottom line on items that make sense to mass produce, and we have to be smarter at home to develop business that uses specialty technologies or emerging science that the Chinese don't have.
It won't be easy, but we don't have 3400 years to figure it out, either.