Скачать или смотреть Global companies closing factories in China ′세계의 공장′ 중국에 부는 ′탈중국′ 바람

An increasing number of global companies are pulling their factories out of China… and this is raising concerns that the trend will hurt Beijing′s manufacturing industry.
With competition rising from other Asian countries,… some say China has lost its position as the go-to place for global firms.
Arirang News′ Kim Min-ji reports.
Japanese watch-maker Citizen recently shut down its factory in Guangzhou.
More than one-thousand employees are up in arms after being laid off,... but the company says it′s part of its restructuring plans.
Citizen isn′t the only one.
U.S. software giant Microsoft has also shut down its Nokia factory in Guangzhou,... and plans to open a new factory in Vietnam.
And with the Beijing factory also expected to close,... some 9-thousand employees are expected to lose their jobs.
Industry watchers estimate more than 100 large factories, including ones run by Sharp and Panasonic, were shut down before the Chinese New Year in the city of Dongguan one of the country′s main manufacturing hubs.
But what has triggered the mass exodus?
Experts say rising labor and land costs.
Such factors no longer make China a profitable investment.
What′s more is that the world′s second largest economy is not expanding as fast as it used to.
Another factor is that countries in Southeast Asia, such as India and Vietnam,... are stepping up efforts to lure foreign companies.
The U.S., Japan and Europe are also offering incentives, such as tax cuts and investment support, to encourage home-grown companies to come back.
The trend has raised concerns that China′s manufacturing industry,... once driven by cheap labor,... may be heading for a crisis.
The official Purchasing Managers′ Index stood at 49-point-8,... falling below 50 for the first time in more than two years,.... signalling a contraction.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.