Gordon Styles has strong views on who will emerge as the winners and losers in manufacturing from the global economic crisis. The British engineer emigrated to China four years ago to set up a new company, Star Prototype, in the southern manufacturing hub of the Pearl River delta and his bet remains on China.
Mr Styles's company, employing 80 people, makes specialised parts for a mixture of Chinese and foreign businesses and it has grown quickly, taking advantage of what he says are boom conditions in Chinese manufacturing, in spite of the global downturn.
“China is now the most powerful nation on earth, economically and politically. It's funny how the guy with cash in his pocket becomes king during a recession,” he says.