> What happens (and it will eventually happen) when China, Viet Nam,  
> Thailand, et al, approach a standard of living comparable to the USA  
> or Europe?

I saw a piece last night about the counterfeit knock-off trade in China

As the Chinese become more affluent they're losing interest in buying
locally made tat and prefer the genuine article. The people who still
actively look for phoney Prada and Louis Vuitton are visitors and tourists,
but government crackdowns and diminishing returns are driving the
businesses out or underground

One European women stunned me when she said she'd bought some
counterfeit clothing for her grandkids. She said it was rubbish quality
and wouldn't last long but it was cheap so she bought it anyway. Poor
grandkids eh ?

So the time is probably approaching when China will not be the cheap
source of labour it is now. Components possibly will continue because
of their huge scale, and it's estimated they will be the world's dominant
economy in 10 years time, so what will happen then ?

There are still plenty of poor countries in Central Asia and Africa that
would fill the gap. Somebody will always be last on a list

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