I've argued in the past that we not only need to stop the flow of jobs overseas, but also the know-how that makes exporting those jobs possible. China seems to recognize the importance of protecting know-how. I was reading an article about Foxconn, which manufactures the iPhone for Apple, encouraging its Chinese workers in India to return to China and came across this bit (bold added):
It's not known why Foxconn has done this, nor is it clear whether workers have been laid off or redeployed to the company's facilities in China. The move, though, does follow Beijing officials reportedly working to prevent firms moving away from China.
Those officials are said to have been verbally encouraging China's local governments and regulatory bodies to curb exports of equipment or technologies to India and Southeast Asia.
Overall, China has been making it harder for skilled labor to leave the country. It's not clear how any changes have specifically affected Chinese workers who had already left.
China understands what is at stake here: "Sell a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll steal your job as a fisherman." They don't want the manufacturing to leave China or, heaven forbid, return to the U.S.
Bingo.
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