Many businesses are attracted to China because of the low cost of labour. But bear in mind that wage rates are only one factor. Simply paying people less than in the West can turn out to be a false economy. Consider other factors such as the quality of the work force, the levels of education (if relevant), the discipline of the workforce and the conditions in which they have to work.

The message here is: consider all available options both for investment or for sourcing. There are many alternative places and sites to base investments. Often the best ones are those near to an area with a high concentration of universities or institutes. For manual labour, Guangdong province in the south has traditionally been thought of as a good place because the links with Hong Kong have helped to establish good systems for recruiting migrant workers from other parts of China.

Note that there are risks involved with taking this approach. There have been incidences of fires in factories, in which workers have been trapped, and some factories are more akin to sweat shops than well run factories. Take your time in choosing a factory which looks after its workers well. There are more and more of them, especially now the local authorities in the province are becoming stricter in enforcing health and safety regulations.

For more information see the section on Finding Staff
Another important consideration is whether to relocate people from the UK to China. If you do decide to hire expats, follow the correct procedures for hiring them and making sure you comply with the regulations.

If you finished up with a mix of expatriate staff and local staff, there will be the complexities of managing everyone. This again is an issue that needs careful thought and management