要是有人寄希望于中國人民幣幣值重估帶來美國制造業(yè)迅速復蘇，那他們應(yīng)當跟中國沿海一家鞋廠的老板本（Ben）聊聊。

    人們一貫認為，2008-09年的嚴重經(jīng)濟衰退應(yīng)當會讓像本這樣的中國出口商元氣大傷。本要求不透露他的姓，以保護他的競爭優(yōu)勢。2009年中國出口量萎縮16%，約2，300萬外出務(wù)工者在經(jīng)濟危機中失去工作。

    然而去年卻是本有生以來最好的年頭。在競爭對手步履維艱之際，本投資200萬美元購買新設(shè)備，摒棄制作廉價雜牌鞋子的業(yè)務(wù)，轉(zhuǎn)向鋼頭工作靴、徒步鞋以及名牌運動鞋。他現(xiàn)在為知名西方公司生產(chǎn)這些鞋子。他的工廠生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品平均售價漲了近兩倍，銷售較上年增長逾50%.

    中國已經(jīng)將大衰退轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)榇髾C遇，2008年11月至2009年11月，美國進口的商品中，中國產(chǎn)品的份額從15.9%增加到19.1%.無論中國政府在人民幣匯率方面有何動作，該份額只會上升。多年來，憑借低估的人民幣幣值，中國獲取了市場份額，建設(shè)了基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施以供應(yīng)全球市場，如今，中國在某些行業(yè)已經(jīng)確立了牢不可破的優(yōu)勢，即便人民幣幣值重估，也不會導致大量定單轉(zhuǎn)向其他國家。

    美國消費者大肆揮霍的那些年是中國出口商的黃金時代，而本輪經(jīng)濟衰退則有如一年期MBA課程：它迫使幸存的出口商關(guān)注盈利，加大研發(fā)和產(chǎn)品設(shè)計方面的投入，并為自己的產(chǎn)品尋找新的市場。本說，我們需要降低勞動力密集程度，提高生產(chǎn)率，否則定單就會被競爭對手搶走。他算了一下，光是他所在的城市就有大約6，000家對手。

    大衰退還突出了中國對于全球經(jīng)濟增長的重要性，強化了其作為貨源地的吸引力。但眾多公司越來越想在中國銷售產(chǎn)品，而不僅僅是制造產(chǎn)品。位于芝加哥的會計及咨詢機構(gòu)Plante & Moran的全球服務(wù)主管Lou Longo說，他認為美國公司從中國工廠進貨不僅僅是想借較低的成本得利，而是要了解當?shù)厥袌觥?/p>

    各個行業(yè)的情況都一樣：即便美國進口商品這個大蛋糕整體縮水了，但中國還是搶了塊大的。美國人口普查局（Census Bureau）數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2009年前九個月，81種中國輸美產(chǎn)品的美國進口量增加了逾20%，價格下降至少20%.

    這些產(chǎn)品中大約四分之一為紡織品、服裝或鞋類。位于南卡羅萊納州的國際貿(mào)易數(shù)據(jù)供應(yīng)商世界貿(mào)易信息服務(wù)股份公司（Global Trade Information Services）的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，去年1-9月，中國產(chǎn)非針織服裝及面料占美國此類產(chǎn)品進口的份額從37.2%增加到41.6%.消費電子產(chǎn)品中，中國產(chǎn)品的份額從31.9%增加到33.9%.藥品、照相機、醫(yī)學設(shè)備、陶瓷、橡膠、塑料甚至魚類和海產(chǎn)品，中國的份額都有所增長。

    以羅非魚為例：2009年前十個月，美國進口自中國的冷凍羅非魚片數(shù)量猛增15%.西雅圖魚類加工商HQ Sustainable從中國海南省的漁場進貨，該公司首席執(zhí)行長斯玻恩斯（Norbert Sporns）預計，美國出售的80%的冷凍羅非魚來自中國。

    他說，我們選中海南的主要原因不是廉價勞動力，而是因為政府的支持，因為合理規(guī)劃的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。他說，美國大多數(shù)州都不對基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施進行規(guī)劃以發(fā)展水產(chǎn)業(yè)。由于擔心養(yǎng)魚場會破壞環(huán)境，水產(chǎn)業(yè)在美國爭議很大。

    電腦和電子消費品也是這個道理。中國的角色現(xiàn)在已不止于裝配車間：國際知名電子產(chǎn)品品牌以前在中國裝配產(chǎn)品，然后運往其他國家“加工”，即為某個市場定制用戶手冊、電源線或鍵盤。比如說，針對歐洲市場的電腦會在荷蘭加工。如今它們就在華南的深圳加工。隨著大牌廠家簡化供應(yīng)鏈以減少存貨、縮短產(chǎn)品上市時間，將這些服務(wù)轉(zhuǎn)到產(chǎn)品生產(chǎn)線所在的中國要比將生產(chǎn)線轉(zhuǎn)到其他地方更容易。

    這些例子顯示出美國公司削減成本的舉措如何推動其將業(yè)務(wù)轉(zhuǎn)向中國，以及中國廠商如何增強自身在匯率政策之外的競爭優(yōu)勢。事實上，預期人民幣將重估的中國工廠已經(jīng)在加強防范。前文所述的鞋廠老板本就將供應(yīng)商的定單整合起來發(fā)貨，以節(jié)省物流成本，限制使用空調(diào)以降低電費，并安裝太陽能電池板和LED燈管，從而讓工廠達到當?shù)卣囊笠垣@得一筆小規(guī)模的補貼，政府為投資環(huán)保技術(shù)的公司提供補貼。

    支持中國進行人民幣重估的人常常聲稱，這會有助于在高消費的美國人和高儲蓄的中國人之間實現(xiàn)全球性的再平衡。事實上，中國在制造方面擁有強勁的競爭優(yōu)勢，無論匯率有何變化，中國在可預見的未來都將保持這種優(yōu)勢。問問本就知道了。

    Anyone pinning their hopes on a rapid revival in American manufacturing as a result of a revaluation of China's currency needs to meet Ben,the owner of a coastal Chinese shoe factory.

    Conventional wisdom holds that exporters in China like Ben,a Chinese man who asked that his surname be withheld to protect his competitive advantage,should have been devastated by the Great Recession of 2008-09. China's export volume shrank 16% in 2009,and some 23 million migrant workers lost their jobs in the downturn.

    But last year was Ben's best ever. As his competitors teetered,Ben invested $2 million in new equipment to shift away from making cheap,no-brand shoes and into steel-toe work boots,hiking shoes and branded athletic footwear. He now produces these under contract for well-known Western companies. Ben's average selling price has almost tripled. Sales are up more than 50% year-on-year.

    China has turned the Great Recession into the Great Opportunity,growing its share of imports in the United States to 19.1% from 15.9% between November 2008 and November 2009. That share is only going to increase,regardless of what Beijing does with the yuan. After years of accumulating market share and building the infrastructure to supply the global market with the help of an undervalued currency,China's advantage is so entrenched in certain industries that a yuan revaluation is unlikely to divert substantial volumes of orders to other countries.

    While the years of profligate American consumer spending were boom times for Chinese exporters,the slowdown was like a one-year MBA program:It forced surviving exporters to focus on the bottom line,invest more in research,development and product design,and find new markets for their products. "We need to reduce labor intensity and improve productivity,or else we'll lose orders to our competitors," says Ben,who counts some 6，000 rivals in his city alone.

    The Great Recession also threw into relief China's importance to global economic growth,reinforcing its allure as a sourcing destination. Companies increasingly want to sell to China,not simply manufacture there. Lou Longo,head of global services at Chicago-based advisory group Plante & Moran,says he sees U.S. companies buying from factories in China not only to take advantage of lower costs,but to learn their way around the local market.

    In sector after sector,the story is the same:Even as the total pie of U.S. imports shrank,China amassed a larger piece. In the first nine months of 2009,there were 81 products from China that saw imports to the U.S. expand by more than 20% and prices decline by at least 20%,according to data from the Census Bureau.

    Of those products,roughly one-quarter were textiles,apparel or shoes. Between January and November,China's share of nonknitted apparel and clothing imports into the U.S. rose to 41.6% from 37.2%,according to Global Trade Information Services,a South Carolina-based supplier of international trade data. Its share of consumer electronics rose to 33.9% from 31.9%. In pharmaceuticals,cameras,medical devices,ceramics,rubber,plastics and even fish and seafood,China has gained share.

    Take tilapia:American imports from China of frozen fillets of this popular fish leapt 15% by volume in the first ten months of 2009. Norbert Sporns,chief executive of HQ Sustainable,a Seattle-based fish processor that buys from aquaculture farms in the southern Chinese province of Hainan,estimates about 80% of frozen tilapia sold in the U.S. comes from China.

    'The major reason why we're sited in Hainan is not because of cheaper labor,but because of government support,because of the infrastructure that is laid out properly," he says. Most U.S. states,he says,"choose not to lay out the infrastructure' to support aquaculture. Concerns about environmental damage from fish farming make aquaculture controversial in the U.S.

    The same logic applies to computers and consumer electronics. China's role now extends beyond assembly:Big global electronics brands used to assemble their products in China and then ship them to other countries for 'flavoring' —— industry lingo for tailoring a user manual,power supply cord or keyboard to an individual market. Computers destined for Europe would be flavored in Holland,for instance. Today,they are flavored in Shenzhen,in southern China. As big brands streamline their supply chains to reduce inventory and shorten products' time to market,it's easier to move these services to China,where the products are made,than to move the manufacturing elsewhere.

    These examples show both how U.S. companies' cost-cutting efforts are driving business to China and how Chinese manufacturers have boosted their competitiveness independent of currency policy. Indeed,Chinese factories are already shoring up their defenses in anticipation of a revaluation. Ben,the shoe factory owner,is consolidating orders from suppliers into fewer shipments to save on logistics costs,limiting air conditioner use to cut his electricity bill,and installing solar panels and LED lights to qualify for a modest local government subsidy for companies that invest in environmentally friendly technology.

    Proponents of a Chinese revaluation often claim it would contribute to a global rebalancing between high-consuming Americans and high-saving Chinese. The reality is that China has strong competitive advantages in manufacturing that will exist for the foreseeable future,whatever the exchange rate. Just ask Ben.