China's manufacturing power

Frank1998 writes: "China as a workshop of the world has been known to everyone. But what makes it so appealing to manufacture in China. Is it really cheap labor,lax environmental regulations or something else? Is it good for the US and the world at large? The August issue of Atlantic Monthly has a cover story titled China Makes, the World Takes. To quote the protagonist of the story, "People think China is cheap, but really, it's fast". Bunnie Huang of the Xbox hacking fame has quite some first-person experience. His recent foray into manufacturing in China has been all positive, from personal dedication of the workers to high precision and automation of the manufacture itself."