Is it better to buy China-made products from multi-national companies or from local Chinese companies?

Full Question I am a registered buyer at global sources site. I visited many trade fairs conducted by global sources in Hong Kong specially electronics. Products of interest are tablets, mini internet devices, laptops, netbooks, all in one pc and other types of computers. Since your business is located in China, that means you know multi-national companies located in Shenzhen. What are the differences when buying China products from multi-national companies vs. China local companies? Is it true that it's cheaper from China local companies? What is hot at the moment on China made products? Is it tablets, laptops, netbooks, mini internet devices or etc?? I think it is tablets? How about the quality?

Answer I use www.GlobalSources.com as well and stress that using their "verified suppliers" with the star ranking is a good way to help deal with reputable suppliers.

Now to your core questions. There are great companies and bad companies between both groups (local and multi-national) in China. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you ignored one group to focus on the other. Instead, I suggest that you look at all options and make an educated selection. For your information, foreign companies in China will claim that they have better QC and customer service. Chinese companies will claim that they have better pricing. If you hear these marketing claims, you absolutely need to validate with due diligence. Trust, but verify. If you are unsure how to verify things on your own, know that you can find third party service providers to help you verify facts (company ownership, quality system, reputation, customer base, financial stability) by doing a Google search for support companies or you are welcome to visit the CSIC's endorsed service providers list at http://www.smartchinasourcing.com/service-providers.html for reputable companies who can support you.

And I also stress you to look at the overall cost not just unit price from the factory. For example, you may get a very low unit price during RFQ, but if a 5% defect rate comes along with that low price, then that low price is not so great in the big picture. So don't be seduced by the sirens songs of low unit price. Focus on a balance of price and quality.

With regards to your question about "what is hot," that is a bit hard for us to answer as things change so fast. But I know Global Sources offers industry reports at http://www.chinasourcingreports.com/ that may be worth a look for you.