Things the Chinese manufacturers don't do well:

[morningglory]

1. no understanding of the "Ziploc" bag. Those handy packages of shredded cheese you have to gnaw with your teeth to get open, then will not close back.
2. pill packs with the bubble. We used to push the pill and it would pop out the back of the pack. Now you have to have a Swiss Army Knife to dig the pill out.
3. What is this category? Bought a floor lamp at the K Mart. The power cord comes out of the bottom up to the wall outlet. There is no switch anywhere on the lamp. The switch is 2 feet toward the wall on the cord.
4. baby formula and pet food

[Possumpoint]

1. Written Instructions

On how to assemble the :"&*%$ product.

[Systematic Chaos]

2. 5. Make shit that works.

n/t

[izquierdista]

3. A second use

Half the time, one of their products doesn't make it through the first use.

[Aristus]

4. 6. Make almost anything that isn't contaminated with toxic substances.

I'm mean, really. Do they dip everything in lead, mercury and selenium? :shrug:

[divideandconquer]

8. The Chinese make products for Europe and Silicon valley that are high quality

Most American corporations demand cheaper, lower quality products, no matter the consequences. Thanks Walmart!

[Poll_Blind]

9. +1 And don't forget cadmium. Cadmium is the new lead. n/t

PB

[gmoney]

18. Yep... sociopathic capitalists

[grilled onions]

5. Nothing Can Be Fixed

Years ago a product not only worked for years but when it faltered you could always buy parts for it or could find a repairman who could. Now it's all sealed. You can't tinker with it. Items that are exposed you can't find parts for.
Years ago we had several name brands for everything and knew just by the name how reliable it would be. Today most items have some frilly name to it but when you turn it over it always says Made In China(or one of the other foreign shores). It tells you nothing but if you have a problem with it--good luck!!

[Sonicmedusa]

6. Heparin

Yet, under Bush, we could not inport pharmaceuticals from Canada because they might be "contaminated."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/world/americas/06poison.html
http://consumerist.com/2009/06/counterfeit-drugs-made-in-china-relabeled-made-in-india.html

There are other Chinese pharmaceuticals that have poisoned Americans. I just don't care to research it right now.

Obama has not changed this.

[Indydem]

7. Neither of those examples were in America.

As far as I know, pharmaceuticals are NOT being imported from China.

[eilen]

10. Heparin? nt

[ingac70]

16. "The U.S. relies on China for about 80% of its heparin supplies"

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/07/29/republicans-press-fda-head-on-chinese-heparin/

[Hannah Bell]

21. yes, they are. vitamins also.

China's pharmaceutical market has experienced significant growth in recent years, fueled by increasing wealth among its own population<1> as well as accelerating global demand for cheap, effective medicines to treat ailments ranging from high cholesterol to HIV/AIDS.<2> Along with India, China supplies more than 40 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) used to make U.S. pharmaceuticals. The current financial crisis, and the limited resources and tighter budgets it has engendered, may accelerate the trend. Yet, China is dogged by a history of poor-quality pharmaceuticals that have killed hundreds and sickened thousands of its own citizens and people across the globe.

http://www.aei.org/outlook/100029

[eilen]

11. Electrical parts and components as well as construction moldings and fittings

DH is an industrial electrician and my brother is a carpenter. They complain all the time about the cheap unworkable garbage they have to cob together to make work that is made in China. The contractors have to purchase at times 50% more just to make up for the defective ones.

[Edweird]

12. I've bought a lot of Chinese made tools and they have been, without exception, all crap.

Among other things: horizontal bandsaws and drill presses and a hammer that the head flew off of the first day. Oh and a motorcycle. A Zhongshen piece of garbage. Another waste of money.

[VMI Dem]

13. Precision roller bearings.

[Dappleganger]

14. Drywall.

Also, food products of ANY kind.

[JVS]

15. I hope they don't make baby toys.

[Historic NY]

17. Aftermarket Auto parts, mostly crap.

[Heidi]

19. Alternate thread title: Things American and European companies don't insist

that their Chinese contract manufacturers do well.

[sonomak]

20. Brake pads not made of saw dust

and pork buns not made of saw dust for that matter

[Prometheus Bound]

22. Things are improving.

I remember using their toilet paper in the early 90s and the 2 layers of the 2-ply sheets overlapped 25-50%. It would fall into pieces as you unrolled it. Texture of gentle sandpaper. I remember thinking, if you can't even make toilet paper, what hope is there.