Starting in 1980’s, the manufacturing frontier shifted to China in hopes of developing big business, producing cheaper materials and outsourcing finished products into the global market. As a result, China started to emerge as the leaders in the global marketplace for its ability to create goods at cheaper prices than other countries’ industries, which could operate and manufacture at a similar level. Manufacturing began to take a stronghold in China through many industries. Most notably in textiles, computer equipment, food, toys and mineral products, leaving other nations to take notice. Today, it is still considered and relied on to be one of the leading suppliers of products and materials for the entire world market.
However, advancements in these fields within China have not gone without growing pains. It has taken many years for companies to develop consistency and trust with their products. Also, concerns over tampering, quality and standards have also been issues that China have begun to deal with because of fear of creating a negative international reputation and fear that business could be given to other countries. Just last year, China faced issues with raw materials tainted with melamine that was used to produce pet food. Most recently, it has been forced to evaluate its food standards over controversy swirling over melamine-tainted milk, specifically made for infants and babies. Over these issues, many countries have recalled their milk requests from China. Manufacturers are now faced with harsher inspections of not only food products but others as well.

Raw materials have also gone through a rough road lately. Prior to the Olympics in August, the Chinese government was forced to shut down several factories that produce several ingredients mostly due to environmental and air quality problems raised by athletes and nations competing in the Games. As a result, many products went into tight supply during the three to four months prior to the Olympics. Several factories had to be shut down, while others were faced with halting or slowing down of their production. Chinese regulatory agencies have also been pushed into enforcing stricter policies over quality control and health issues. Many products now have to go through proficient inspection prior to being exported into other countries. Other goods have been disallowed or banned by the Chinese government because of reasons deemed to be unsafe for consumers.

In response to this, many manufacturers have looked into raising their standards of producing their goods in order to be in compliance with Chinese and other regulatory standards. Some have also adopted higher technological practices, which have aided in developing better regulations and quality control over manufacturing processes. These testing mechanisms are designed to detect improper handling of goods or materials as well as contamination and other deficiencies. Manufacturers are stepping up their efforts to avoid crises, which could prevent them from continuing to do business. In the future, many of these manufacturers producing pharmaceutical products will also have to be wary of more strident control and inspection to protect the public. .

Another emerging trend is many large manufacturers are continuing to thrive through expansion and adapting to new technological devices, which aid their operations while smaller producers are reaping weaker returns and often finding it difficult to survive in the market. Those manufacturers who are better equipped to adjust to government inspection and higher standards will likely withstand hardships involved in the market, while others may succumb to falling behind in the new age of manufacturing. Along with this, many are meeting the terms of current Good Manufacturing Processes (cGMP) which emphasizes control and management of producing and testing of quality for food, pharmaceutical and medical products. As a result, this recognized practice is becoming a normal procedure for manufacturers prior to shipping out their goods to customers. Through proper testing and analyzation of product’s chemistry and properties, cGMP’s can give final producers, health agencies and consumers the peace of mind of quality products.
Lastly, numerous Chinese manufacturers are beginning to market directly to their customers in several countries without the use of middle men or distributors. Several are attempting to be more professional in the way they do business to make themselves a more lucrative option than others on the market. This strategy saves them money in their bottom line as well as providing flexibility to work directly with the customer, so they can understand their needs. This trend is expected to continue since many food, pharmaceutical and nutritional supplement companies continue to lean towards cutting cost but still obtaining the materials they need from China. And with this evolving global marketplace, it’s no wonder that China’s face of manufacturing will continue to change in the future.