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Labor unrest in China could benefit U.S.
BEIJING, (UPI) -- Demands by Chinese workers for better pay and working conditions could eventually reshape an economic balance between China and the United States, analysts say.
Labor troubles at Chinese facilities of companies including Honda Motor Co., electronics giant Foxconn and a major parts supplier for Toyota Motor Corp. has focused attention in China on the gap between rich and poor and on the future of cheap labor, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
This attention, along with rising minimum wages in some Chinese provinces and cities, could count as a step towards rebalancing China's economy and improve the U.S. balance of trade deficits, the newspaper said.
China's booming economy has left its workers on the outside looking in, experts say. The ratio of Chinese laborers' income to the gross domestic product has fallen to 40 percent from the 53 percent figure of 1999.
Economists argue raising Chinese household income is a key to resolving the widening trade imbalance with the United States, which grew to $19.3 billion in April.
More money in the hands of Chinese workers would spur the buying of goods and services, taking pressure off of Beijing to rely on exports to keep China's economy growing.
Such a result would give U.S. manufacturers a more level playing field, the Times said.
BEIJING, (UPI) -- Demands by Chinese workers for better pay and working conditions could eventually reshape an economic balance between China and the United States, analysts say.
Labor troubles at Chinese facilities of companies including Honda Motor Co., electronics giant Foxconn and a major parts supplier for Toyota Motor Corp. has focused attention in China on the gap between rich and poor and on the future of cheap labor, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
This attention, along with rising minimum wages in some Chinese provinces and cities, could count as a step towards rebalancing China's economy and improve the U.S. balance of trade deficits, the newspaper said.
China's booming economy has left its workers on the outside looking in, experts say. The ratio of Chinese laborers' income to the gross domestic product has fallen to 40 percent from the 53 percent figure of 1999.
Economists argue raising Chinese household income is a key to resolving the widening trade imbalance with the United States, which grew to $19.3 billion in April.
More money in the hands of Chinese workers would spur the buying of goods and services, taking pressure off of Beijing to rely on exports to keep China's economy growing.
Such a result would give U.S. manufacturers a more level playing field, the Times said.