Two Chinas from the World Policy Institute

This is an article about the labor situation in China. Aside from its main point about the difference between inland, Chinese-owned factories (lower pay, more repressive) and coastal, foreign-owned factories (more beholden to workers), the article outlines some interesting trends. It says that industry in general is paying more heed to workers' demands, because there is a nascent labor shortage in China. Fewer young people, and rising living standards in the countryside, mean that urban employers have to please their employees to attract and keep them. In addition, the article hints at a change in Chinese business policy to favor local production and consumption. I think this is ultimately a good thing, as only by favoring the national market (and hence a rise in national living standards) can a country truly become developed in every sense of the word.