Originally Posted by
mosburger
I'd say the basic problem is the poor state of vocational training and education in China. Mao did a troughout job to destroy and root out any remaining artisanal and industrial culture and tradition during his reigning period.
At the moment, nobody respects manual/physical labour in China. The same in Russia, btw. But then this is precisely what has made countries like Germany, Japan and Switzerland prosper. One cannot be succesful by trading, investing and gambling alone.
Well said. There is little to no culture of Quality and pride of workmanship in today's China. However, I'm not sure that it was ever there, even pre-Mao. The Chinese are more of culturally attuned to "do the minimum required to slide by" rather than the exacting quest for precision a la the Japanese and the Germans. I'll add to the thought that the problem is not just the vocational training/labor, but also
management attitude. The best labor in the world is going to be hobbled if the management is inept or willfully corrupted by other incentives/motivations. But with good management, specific labor-workforce issues can be addressed over time.