China Law Blog, a Web site by Seattle law firm Harris & Moure PLLC, frequently has posts that are relevant to manufacturers who do business in China.

Robert Grace, Plastics News' editor and associate publisher, is a big fan of the blog, and he pointed out that some recent topics on the site include "How to protect your company from bad China product" (always a concern, and especially noteworthy now with the pet food recall debacle), and "China manufacturing: Take 10% and call me in the morning," about how moving some work to China does not make sense.

Blogger Dan Harris writes:

I know this stuff sounds rather basic, but I have had a number of clients who end up surprised at the low or minimal cost savings to be realized by manufacturing in China, particularly after adding in the transportation costs, the increased legal and administrative fees that come from doing business internationally, and then accounting for the increased risks of quality and other problems.

It's also worth checking out Harris' take on the feud between Groupe Danone SA and its Chinese supplier, Wahaha. This is a story that has received little coverage in the United States, but is making big headlines in China.

Harris agrees with some analysts who I've seen quoted elsewhere, that this dispute is going to influence the future of business for all "foreigners" in China. So if you're interested in that market, you should get up to speed.