Made in China: How To Get A Product Manufactured In The Far East

The Bottom Line

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Business

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports have shaken up the global economic order, but why have so many brands turned to China to make their products in the first place, and how exactly do they do it? Evan Davis talks to three company bosses to find out what it’s really like doing business in the Far East and whether it's still as cheap and easy as it used to be. And if high tariffs persist, or get higher, where else in the world could do China's job?

Evan is joined by:

Nick Grey, founder and CEO, Gtech; Kate Sbuttoni, founder, The Ginger Jar Lamp Co.; Jonathan Duck, CEO, Amtico International

Production team:

Producer: Simon Tulett Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Jonny Baker and Nigel Appleton Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:05.4	Thanks for downloading this episode of the Bottom Line podcast.
0:08.5	It has lots of extra content in it that we couldn't squeeze into the radio version.
0:12.9	If you like it, you might want to check out other episodes relevant to China, like electric cars made in China from June last year.
0:22.5	It's been a busy old time in the world while we've been away,
0:26.5	and we couldn't think of a better place to start this new series
0:29.6	than with one of the biggest business stories in town,
0:33.1	the trade and tariff war between the US and China.
0:39.9	President Trump has decided to upend 25 years of global economics, 25 years in which the world chose to manufacture in China.
0:47.2	The president wants that to change and for China to become more of a buyer of things as well
0:53.3	as a seller of them.
0:55.2	Now, the cripplingly high tariff rates imposed by both sides a few weeks ago,
1:00.2	they've been put on pause.
1:02.1	The tariffs are still pretty steep, though, and who knows what will happen
1:06.0	when the temporary truce between the two of them ends.
1:09.7	But the whole thing has shone a light on the
1:12.0	role of China, which has been reshaping the world economy for a generation now. So this week on
1:17.7	the bottom line, we thought we'd try to find out what it's really like having things made in
1:22.3	China. What has been the attraction? If you've got a product, how do you begin to find a factory there to make it?
1:29.3	How have things changed? And if you are being squeezed by tariffs, are there viable alternatives?
1:34.1	So there's a lot to talk about. We have three guests who've trodden this path in very different
1:39.8	businesses, and they can help us. And first up, Nick Gray, founder and chief executive of G-Tech.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.