Best line of the day, so far

“The only U.S.-produced items that I can think of that exist in large quantities in China are dollar bills.”

Matthew Crabbe, the managing director of Access Asia Ltd., a market research firm, in an article in The New York Times on the struggle facing American brands in China compared “to European brands and even some Chinese brands.”

“The United States is buying $6 worth of goods from China for every $1 worth of goods it ships to China.”

A couple of other indicators from the same article:

G.M. has started building the Cadillac CTS sedan and Cadillac SRX car-based utility vehicle for the Chinese market in a 50-50 joint venture in Shanghai with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.

Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., has been one of the most successful American companies in the Chinese market, but now relies heavily on factories in China to supply the market.