China manufacturing

China is the world’s largest manufacturer in terms of output and gained a reputation as the “world’s factory” shortly after its accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001. Lured by cheap labour, China’s new commitment to opening up its economy, and low tariff access to Western markets, all due to its WTO entry, foreign firms and investors rushed to do business in the world’s most populous country in the new millennium. Aided by state investment, China has since become a world leader in the manufacture of steel, car parts, chemical fertilisers, technology, robotics.