How Corporate Greed, Government Incompetence, and Big Box Chains Handed the World to China

In a staggering display of short-term greed, Western governments and multinational corporations have sacrificed their own economies in just over one generation, transferring not only jobs but entire industries to China. The betrayal runs deep. While Western communities crumble, corporations rake in record profits. Yet, this story of betrayal is not just about the manufacturers who eagerly moved their operations overseas; it’s also about the rise of online giants like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and many others, as well as Big Box superstore chains such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Argos, Primark, Marks & Spencer, B&M, Next, John Lewis, Sports Direct, Poundland, The Range Walmart, Target and many others.  These corporate behemoths have paved the way for an endless flow of cheap, Chinese-made goods into the West, flooding the market and driving local producers out of business. 

Together, they’ve created an unholy alliance that decimates domestic industries, exploits labour abroad, and leaves Western workers and communities in ruins.

ECONOMIC DRIVERS BEHIND OUTSOURCING TO CHINA:
Corporate Greed Over National Interest

Unashamed Exploitation of Cheap Labour:
Western corporations like Apple, General Electric, and others flocked to China to exploit its cheap labour. Workers there earn as little as $2 to $4 per hour, compared to up to $20 to $30 in the West Instead of paying decent wages at home, these corporations prioritize maximizing their profits by leveraging China’s low-cost workforce.

Result: Millions of Western jobs have vanished, and entire communities have been shattered, all to increase the wealth of corporate executives and shareholders.

Elimination of Fair Labour Standards:
Moving production to China allows companies to avoid the labour laws and regulations that Western nations fought hard to establish. These firms turned their backs on fair wages, safe working conditions, and worker protections, instead choosing to operate in a regulatory environment that allows them to exploit Chinese labour to its fullest extent.

Impact: Corporate giants are happy to avoid paying workers a fair wage or following environmental standards, choosing instead to support a system built on exploitation. 

WESTERN GOVERNMENTS: 
Wilfully Blind or Complicit?

Failure to Protect National Interests:
Western governments—especially in the U.S., UK, and Europe—allowed this outsourcing to happen, standing by while their own industries and workers were destroyed. Rather than intervening to protect their national interests, they kowtowed to corporate pressure.

Impact: The West has willingly participated in its own economic demise, losing key industries and millions of jobs to China while offering little more than hollow promises of "revitalization."

Tax Breaks and Loopholes for Corporations:
Despite outsourcing their operations, these corporations continue to enjoy favourable tax treatment in their home countries. Governments, rather than penalizing offshoring, reward it by allowing these companies to park profits offshore or receive tax breaks despite the devastation they cause.

Result: Western countries lose twice—first the jobs, and then the tax revenue that should be funding public services and infrastructure at home.

Online Giants and Superstores:
 The Accelerators of Economic Decay

Amazon and eBay Flooding Markets with Cheap Chinese Goods:
E-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay have facilitated a massive influx of cheaply made Chinese products into the West. These platforms make it incredibly easy for Chinese manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, bypassing traditional importers and local businesses.

Impact: Small, local producers stand no chance of competing with the rock-bottom prices of Chinese goods, resulting in the closure of countless small businesses across the West.

The Role of Alibaba:
Alibaba has made it simple for businesses, large and small, to directly source products from Chinese manufacturers at unbeatable prices. While Western companies once prided themselves on producing high-quality goods, they now compete by importing mass-produced, low-cost items, further eroding domestic industries.

Consequence: The West’s own entrepreneurs are increasingly becoming little more than resellers for Chinese-made products, with little incentive to invest in local manufacturing or innovation.

Superstores like Walmart and Target as Enablers of Economic Decline:
Superstore chains such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Argos, Primark, Marks & Spencer, B&M, Next, John Lewis, Sports Direct, Poundland, The Range Walmart, Target and many others  have played a critical role in driving demand for cheap Chinese imports. Obsessed with offering "Everyday Low Prices," these giants have pushed domestic suppliers to either relocate production to China or face elimination from their shelves.

Impact: These massive retailers, by prioritizing low prices over everything else, have destroyed local manufacturing. American and European companies that once supplied goods to retailers have either moved production overseas or gone out of business.

STRATEGIC CONSEQUENCES FOR WESTERN ECONOMIES:
The Devastation of Domestic Industry

The Deliberate Deindustrialization of the West:
Manufacturing Ghost Towns: Entire regions that were once manufacturing hubs have been decimated by offshoring. Cities like Detroit in the U.S. and Sheffield in the UK, once bustling with factory jobs, now stand as tragic reminders of what happens when corporations prioritize profits over their country.

Result: Local economies are gutted, with thousands of people left unemployed, and once-proud industrial cities becoming ghost towns.

Retail Giants’ Role in Deindustrialization:
Retailers like Walmart aggressively pressured suppliers to lower costs, essentially forcing them to move production overseas. Walmart’s dominance over supply chains created a "race to the bottom" in which only the cheapest, Chinese-made goods could survive.

Impact: By pushing their suppliers to the brink, these retailers helped kill off American manufacturing, leaving little choice for businesses but to follow the lowest-cost path to China.

Erosion of Technological Leadership and Skills

Handing Over the Keys to Innovation:
Western corporations didn’t just move their manufacturing to China—they moved their R&D too, handing over critical technology and expertise in the process. Today, Chinese companies are manufacturing and developing advanced technologies that once made the West dominant.

Impact: China has become a global leader in high-tech sectors like telecommunications, consumer electronics, and electric vehicles, while the West loses its edge.

The Destruction of Skilled Workforces:
With the outsourcing of manufacturing comes the erosion of the skilled labour force. Western workers, once trained in advanced manufacturing techniques, are now left with little more than low-wage, low-skill service jobs.

Consequence: The West is no longer producing the engineers, machinists, and innovators that once propelled its industrial might. Instead, these skills are being cultivated in China, further entrenching Western dependency.

Wage Stagnation, Inequality, and Economic Collapse

Online Retailers Crushing Small Businesses:
Platforms like eBay and Amazon allow Chinese manufacturers to directly sell goods to Western consumers, often bypassing taxes and undercutting local producers. Small businesses that once thrived on local production and craftsmanship are now unable to compete with the flood of cheap imports.

Result: Small businesses across the U.S. and Europe are collapsing under the pressure of e-commerce giants who favor the lowest-priced goods, regardless of quality or origin.

Inequality Worsened by Corporate Greed:
As corporations shift production to China, wages stagnate for Western workers, particularly in manufacturing. Meanwhile, the elites who orchestrate these moves enjoy ever-higher profits and stock returns. The result is a massive concentration of wealth at the top, while the working class suffers.

Consequence: Entire regions are left in economic despair, with massive income inequality and little hope of recovery.

CHINA’S ECONOMIC TAKEOVER:

Western Capitulation to a Strategic Rival

China's Rise Fuelled by Western Corporate Betrayal

Superstores and E-commerce as Catalysts for Chinese Growth:
Retail giants and online platforms have become direct pipelines for Chinese goods into Western markets. Companies like Walmart, Amazon, and eBay are responsible for building the market demand that fuels China’s manufacturing dominance.

Impact: China’s economy has exploded thanks to these Western companies prioritizing cheaper imports over domestic production. Chinese goods flood American and European markets, giving China unparalleled control over global supply chains.

Western Companies Betraying National Interests:
Companies like Walmart and Amazon have built their empires on cheap Chinese goods, destroying domestic industries in the process. Their reliance on China has made them complicit in building up a strategic rival while simultaneously hollowing out their own countries.

Consequence: China now controls vast portions of the global manufacturing landscape, while the U.S. and Europe face unemployment, industrial decline, and economic stagnation.

Technological Dependency and Vulnerability

Erosion of Domestic Supply Chains:
The reliance on Chinese imports has left the West vulnerable. If China cuts off its supply of critical goods—whether it's semiconductors, rare earth metals, or medical supplies—the West would face immediate and catastrophic shortages.

Consequence: Western nations are now deeply dependent on China for everything from smartphones to pharmaceuticals. This vulnerability poses a direct threat to national security.

China’s Dominance in Key Technologies:
Through the acquiescence of Western corporations, China has built its own technological ecosystem. Firms like Huawei now lead in global 5G networks, while American and European firms fall behind.

Impact: The West, having handed over its innovations, now finds itself lagging behind in industries that it once pioneered.

GEOPOLITICAL CONSEQUENCES: EMPOWERING AN ADVERSARY

Global Implications and The Economic Consequences of Western Submission:

Building China’s Global Power:
The West’s relentless pursuit of cheap goods has come at the expense of its global standing. By fueling China’s industrial growth, Western companies have unwittingly—or perhaps knowingly—strengthened a nation that now openly challenges Western dominance.

Result: China has leveraged its economic strength to become a global superpower, rivaling the U.S. and Europe both economically and militarily.

Trade Wars and Growing Tensions:
As the West realizes the full extent of its economic vulnerability, trade wars and tariffs are a belated attempt to curb China’s influence. But these efforts are a reaction to decades of reckless outsourcing, and they come far too late to reverse the damage already done.

Supply Chain Fragility and National Security Risks

Western Dependence on Chinese Manufacturing:
The pandemic exposed just how fragile Western supply chains have become. With critical goods—from masks to electronics—coming from China, Western nations found themselves scrambling to meet demand when Chinese factories shut down.

Result: The West’s reliance on Chinese goods has become a national security threat, and it has little infrastructure left to rebuild its own supply chains.

THE RECKONING AHEAD

A Legacy of Greed and Short-Sightedness:
Western governments and corporations have betrayed their people. By allowing jobs, skills, and capital to flow freely to China, they have sown the seeds of their own economic destruction. Amazon, Walmart, and their ilk have hastened the decline by flooding Western markets with cheap, Chinese-made goods, driving local businesses into the ground.

A Path to Rebuilding:
The West must wake up to the economic catastrophe it has created. Governments need to enforce strict policies that incentivize domestic production, penalize outsourcing, and break the chokehold of retail and e-commerce giants that prioritize foreign imports over local innovation.

Holding Corporations Accountable:
It’s time to demand that corporations pay for the damage they have caused. Companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Apple must be held accountable for their role in gutting Western economies. Governments must implement aggressive policies to reclaim lost industries and reduce dependency on China, or the consequences will only worsen.

Follow Getslocal to learn more about how you can support local businesses, strengthen your community, and become part of a grassroots movement that is reclaiming the future. Together, we can turn the tide and create an economy that works for everyone, not just the corporate elite.