Difference in quality in products made in China?

I remember a story about stainless steel.

Properly manufactured stainless steel uses iron, nickel, and molybdenum blended to make a shiny and corrosion resistant metal.

A Chinese chemical plant under construction bought cheap stainless steel made in China.

The stainless steel maker had substituted another cheaper metal for the nickel. The resultant product was shiny but not corrosion resistant.

The chemical plant began to experience considerable corrosion after a few months and all of the "stainless steel" componentry had to be replaced with expensive authentic stainless steel. At considerable cost in labor and lost production.

Natural selection at the corporate level?

IMO: China and Korea are capable of making products at any quality level desired. Same things were once said about Japanese products, now I wish I could afford some of them.

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5685963/Nine-held-over-Shanghai-building-collapse.html)

I just bought some Pangea power cables (9ASE & 14AE Signatures), they are well made and sound wonderful. My other cables are Cardas Golden Reference and PS audio I don't believe that they are superior!

Parasound was the first American company in the early 80's
to manufacture offshore in Asia. Their products have been manufactured in Taiwan for over thirty years. The biggest company in China that provides OEM services for Audio companies in Europe and the U.S. is IAG. The International Audio Group. Companies such as Vincent Audio, Cayin, BMC and Prima Luna just to name a few, have all their manufacturing done in China. Many of the mid-line speakers from B&W are made in China at B&W's own factory. All Polk speakers are made in China. The best quality produced in China are American and European companies that have their own employee's living in China to
oversee quality control and production. IAG production of electronics is the best in China. Hi-Vi Corp. in China is right behind IAG. Hi-Vi owns Swans speakers and produce forty thousand speakers a month for a world wide network. They are the largest manufacturer of speaker driver's in Asia and have the largest Anechoic chamber in Asia. They currently have under construction a large production campus of multiple buildings that when complete, will surpass IAG.