Chapter 5
Chinese Domestic Manufacturers versus Western Manufacturers
Chinese domestic companies have been strengthening their global position in several stages. To trace the logic of this change, we will divide all manufacturing products into four segments depending on the three criteria.
The Four Segments Analytical Framework
The first criterion is the level of technologies used and the technological intensity of production. For the sake of simplicity, products will be divided into low-tech and high-tech. In literature and statistical sources, the notions of high-tech and low-tech are quite flexible and vary depending on the author and the source. We assume that a high-tech product is one whose manufacturing requires advanced, complicated technologies and special technological skills for the majority of people involved in its production, which can be acquired only through special education and/or continuous professional training. On the contrary, production of low-tech items requires simpler technologies that can be mastered within a shorter period of time and without a solid special knowledge base.
Of course, these definitions are far from perfect—perfect definitions for high-tech and low-tech, as well as for high-end and low-end products hardly exist at all. As a rule some industries, such as electronics, precision machinery, or pharmaceuticals, are defined as high-tech; others, like textiles or chemicals, are not, but this division does not allow us to grasp differences among ...
