Like most people it seems that virtually everything I buy, barring food, seems to be made in China. Over the last 1-2 years I have kept hearing on the News about how the economy in China is slowing down and that this is bad for the world economy. Now I have never studied economics and I have to admit to being quite ignorant about the subject. Certainly I have yet to notice any negative impact of this slow down on my daily life. I am currently living in the USA which is a consumers paradise. Clothes, toys, electronics etc are so cheap here, compared to my home country of New Zealand which has a much smaller population and therefore low buying power. Having seen people work for $2/day during my visits to Cambodia, I often feel guilty that someone in China must be on a very low wage for me to buy that cute “onesie” for my baby daughter for only $7!

The Financial Times sent me this brief (15 min) and very informative video about the economic slow down in China to share with my readers. It shows how the downturn in the Chinese economy is affecting Chinese people already, and how it will filter through to consumers in western countries. The statistics are amazingly and mind-boggling. We are introduced to a Chinese man and another foreign worker from Vietnam who’s lives and families are being adversely impacted by the economic downturn in China. This personalizing of the problem really helps to hit the message home. Having watched it I now have a much clearer understanding of the personal and global effects of the problem. The video is well worth a look.

Image by Martin Abegglen under Creative Commons license.