Suppliers struggle to keep up with the brutal pace in China

A different China has emerged for western parts makers, who no longer see the country as a low-cost source of components

A half-decade ago, North American suppliers sought footholds in China for reasons that turned out to be the wrong ones. Pressured by U.S. carmakers, they wanted to achieve the “China price,” the then-new global benchmark for low-cost production. Western parts makers put together strategies to import parts from China for North American OEM customers