Was ‘Made in China’ made in America?
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What historical context led to the rise of 'Made in China'?
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Hi there, I'm Tristan Redman. Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. I'm the host of The Global Story, the show about where the world and America meet. And you can find us every weekday wherever you find your BBC podcasts.
How did American consumerism shape the perception of Chinese products?
Now, we march the USA's 250th birthday with a special series looking at how America's changed the world over the centuries. And in this bonus episode we're bringing you today, you'll hear about how China's developing into a rival superpower to the US and the role that the United States played in making that happen. We hope you enjoy it. American consumerism is driven by made-in-China products. But have you ever wondered how that came to be and whether that reliance is good for the United States?
Today on our show, we look at the origins and evolution of Made in China, because it wasn't actually inevitable.
From the BBC, I'm Tristan Redmond in London.
And I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. And today on The Global Story, how did Made in China go from trashy merchandise to technological marvel? And did the U.S.
What role did the United States play in China's economic transformation?
actually give it a leg up so that China is now its greatest rival?
So far this week we've been mostly thinking about how the United States came to become the power that it is now and in today's episode we're going to be thinking about what comes next and the challenger waiting in the wings and that's China.
And, you know, when I think about China, I will say I don't think it can be overstated just how much economically the country has transformed over the last five or six decades. You think of China going back to the 1950s and 1960s, and many folks didn't really see it as an economic player. You look at it now and it is undoubtedly a global economic powerhouse.
The figure that we often hear from the World Bank of 800 million Chinese people lifted out of poverty in the last 40 years, whichever way you slice it, that is an impressive number. And, you know, you could make a case that that is one of the most impressive economic success stories in human history.
And Tristan, you've been seeing signs of that economic success story in parts of China for the last several years. I went to China some years back and I was doing reporting in Shenzhen, which is thought to be kind of the factory of the world in some ways. And I saw all these young people who spend their days working in some of these manufacturing facilities. And then they are out in the evenings working. eating, shopping at these huge shopping malls. And that was something really new. The local journalist I was working with pointed it out to me and said, like, this is something that we didn't used to see. These are all these young people who've come from some cases, villages, different parts of China, who've come to work in these factories and have money to spend.
It is a Chinese middle class.
Well, the creation of that Chinese middle class is something we're going to be talking about today. Where did it come from? The answer is partly through extraordinarily successful reforms instituted by the Chinese Communist Party. But arguably, the United States played a role in it, too.
How did Don King influence the perception of Chinese goods in America?
The thinking was, if we help China to become more like us economically, then maybe China will become more like us politically too. But the question is now, did that process backfire? And to get into all of that today, we're going to be joined by Elizabeth Ingleson. Elizabeth is an academic at the London School of Economics, and she's the author of the book, Made in China When US-China Interests Converged to Transform Global Trade. Elizabeth told us a story about a very traditionally American set of products that was being mass manufactured in China and then sold back to Americans by a very big and famous American personality.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What historical context led to the rise of 'Made in China'?
0:00–1:11
2
How did American consumerism shape the perception of Chinese products?
1:11–2:08
3
What role did the United States play in China's economic transformation?
2:08–4:26
4
How did Don King influence the perception of Chinese goods in America?
4:26–6:06
5
What were the economic reforms that contributed to the Chinese middle class?
6:06–8:04
6
How did the 'Made in China' label evolve in American culture?
8:04–9:54
7
What impact did Apple have on the perception of Chinese manufacturing?
9:54–12:35
8
How is China's current economic strategy influencing global trade?
12:35–29:51