My favorite ball socket hex key set (allen wrenches) and my favorite screw driver set were both made in China.
I'll reach for them before I'll reach for their more expensive American counter-parts.
SOME stuff made in China is very good, MOST is still junk.
I've yet to try any cutting tool made in China that was any good (saw blade, drill bit, etc).
When I was a kid, made in Japan was an insult meant to ridicule cheaply made garbage.
It evolved into meaning top quality.
Not that many years ago, made in Korea or made in Taiwan meant crap. Not so much anymore.
Try to buy a desent shop lathe for example. Say something with a 10' bed and 36" swing.
American? Not unless it's 40 years old and refurbished, and even then it'll cost way too much (2x). Japanese? Can't afford it. 4x the cost.
Korean and Taiwan? Now yer talking, price is right, quality is meh, OK.
Ain't gonna last 75 years like the American stuff used to, But no one could afford that quality anymore anyhow.
China's shop machines are getting better, almost as good as Korean but still much less expensive.
Pretty soon, made in China will be an attribute, not an insult. They're metallurgical know-how is improving each day. I figure they'll be one of the best tool manufacturing countries in less than 10 years.
After all, they only need to make their tools really smooth and really shiny (and slippery) and really expensive to be considered the best
