How 'made in China' went global | The Global Story

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, all this week The Global Story is exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the US has shaped the modern world.

For decades in the US, “Made in China” signified a product that was cheap, poorly made, and, in some cases, produced through exploitative labour. But today, the label signifies something quite different in many American minds - state-of-the-art tech and luxury goods that even rival America, for arguably the first time in US history.

Often overlooked is the fact that China's ascendance as an economic superpower was far from inevitable.

Today we speak to historian Elizabeth Ingleson to trace the evolution of the Made in China brand and to explore what responsibility the United States had for awakening its own economic rival.

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Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:20 China's economic rise 04:05 The Don King connection 07:00 Why did the US start buying products from China? 08:00 How did China become such a manufacturing hub? 14:00 What was America buying from China in the 1970s? 17:30 Why Apple is so reliant on China 22:00 What happens next?