Who Can Compete Against China?

Central America’s employment of low-skilled workers could not withstand a fully developed Chinese labor market where agricultural mechanization would spur mass migration to cities, reports The Guardian. “China plans to move 800 million farmers to existing and newly created cities. If they mechanise the countryside and achieve similar productivity levels to the US, they say, China will only need 100 million people in the rural sector. When the nations of Central America hear about this they will be shaking in their (Chinese) boots. For years these countries have been working to hook their economies to the US market, with a particular emphasis on clothing and apparel exports.”