From the official Adidas ball to armadillo figurines, China may not have made the World Cup this year, but its factories are keeping soccer fans supplied. 
As Chao Deng and Jenny W. Hsu report:
Made in China, sold in Brazil. So it goes for many a product going to fans across the world.
The country is manufacturing a long list of World Cup memorabilia—from figurines of the armadillo that serves as the games’ official mascot to wigs, flags and caps. And who could forget the (Chinese-made) vuvuzelas that cropped up when South Africa hosted the last cup? This year, the country is stocking fans with an alternative instrument, the percussive Brazilian caxirolas.
While there is no official tally of how much of the sales profits China will keep, margins could be thinning given the rise in domestic labor costs. Many global sportswear brands outsourced their production to Taiwan in the late 1980s, before the Chinese labor market opened up in 1990s, says Mr. Poon. But now, as wages rise in both China and in neighboring Southeast Asian countries, competition between factories is “not only about who’s the cheapest but who’s most efficient” in production.
“The term ‘Made in China’ is slowly becoming the definition of high-quality, even though it wasn’t the case in the past,” said Simon Lee, president of Wagon Group, the Taiwanese-owned Chinese company that is responsible for 80% of the officially licensed souvenirs for this year’s World Cup.
via At the World Cup, It’s Made in China, Sold in Brazil – China Real Time Report – WSJ.
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