I remember reading an article about the evolution of Chinese...

I remember reading an article about the evolution of Chinese manufacturing, in particular the area of quality control. It now includes liaison with western customers. The QC manager will offer the client a range of options, they can have a cheap crappy KMart version for a low price, or a premium product for a high price. The same company can make both The have pretty much mastered the skills of emulating the durability and reliability of other industrial economies. No doubt there's room for improvement, but this process has been going on for decades. In the case of cars, they are also hiring senior design people, mostly from Europe IIRC. Have a look at your Japanese branded electronics, a lot of them have been made in China for a long time now.