Edge Perspectives with John Hagel: Consumer Electronics Show – in Shanghai?
"One thing that the media failed to cover was the continuing shift in production and design of more and more of consumer electronics devices to Taiwan and mainland China. It would have been interesting to do an analysis of how many of the products on display in Las Vegas were manufactured in Taiwan or mainland China and then to determine how many of these products were also designed in those countries.
A good news hook for the story might have been the recent announcement that “China has replaced America as the world’s largest exporter of IT goods” according to new figures released by the OECD. Actually, this happened in 2004, but it was just reported last month. Also, the statistic applies to all IT goods, not just consumer electronics.
OK, I know all the objections. Most of China’s exports are in low-end IT products. A lot of the exports are sub-systems and components that get integrated into IT devices sold by US companies.
Granted. But those of you who read my writings know that my focus is not on the snapshot. My focus instead is on the trajectory and relative pace of change."
