Beijing Rising
China remains primarily a nation of farmers, and the transition to an industrial free market is much like the traffic on Highway 204-unpredictable. Few state-owned firms have been sold, and most are laggard behemoths. Growth is driven by new joint ventures, collectives and private busines-ses, which now account for more than 50% of China’s industrial production.
For China’s newly-rising enterprises, profits are up throughout the region-thanks largely to low wages. Last year the BeiBei company in Zhangjiagang cleared $14 million on exports of 10 mil- lion pairs of shoes to U.S. department stores. Typically, Chinese workers in a plant like this make about 34 cents an hour, compared with $3.50 for Korean workers, according to South Korean esti- mates. That gives China a huge competitive advantage.
Last fall Beijing agreed to open its markets to more U.S. goods, including everything from Polaroid film to automobiles. In return, Washington would support China’s membership in General Agreement on Tariff and Trade. Membership in this club, which includes all the world's leading economies, could provide a huge boost for low-wage export economy. Last year China’s trade surplus surged, buoyed by exports of toys, textiles and consumer electronics. "The trade surplus it- self will be the No.1 problem this year," says one Chinese officials. "After Japan, we’ll be first in line for retalintion."At the same time, Americans has an increasingly large stake in good relations with China.
The low cost labor force enabled China to have a great competitive advantage over some of her Asian neighbors.
A、正确
B、错误
【正确答案】：A
【名师解析】:题目内容强调了中国劳动力成本低的优势，这是中国在亚洲邻国中具有巨大竞争优势的原因之一。文章提到，中国工人在类似制鞋厂的时薪大约为34美分，而韩国工人的时薪约为3.50美元。这种显著的工资差异为中国企业提供了竞争优势，使得中国能够以更低的成本生产商品，进而在国际市场上以更有竞争力的价格销售。此外，文章还提到了中国企业的利润增长，以及中国政府同意开放市场给更多美国商品，这可能会进一步增强中国的出口经济。因此，选项A正确地反映了文章中提到的中国低劳动力成本带来的竞争优势。
