It used to be that when other auto parts manufacturers heard the word “China,” they would burst in to laughter. That is because the fledgling Chinese auto part industry was known for making tools and parts of extremely low quality and lacking precision, and for sales prices that were a lot higher than other western competitors, such as Germany and the United States.

But all that has been changing recent years, as China prepares to become the world’s largest car manufacturer. Not only has China’s domestic sales of cars increased at a rapid scale throughout the last few years, but their investment in to assembly line equipment and machinery has shown that they are quite serious in their commitment to giving the United States, Germany, and Japan a run for their money.

Compared to the United States in particular, the Chinese auto parts industry seems to be doing just fine. After all, jobs in the United States of America in auto parts has fallen tremendously in recent years – from 721,000 in the year 2002 to 644,000 in the year 2004.

A lot of America’s small suppliers are having a tough time competing with China’s increasingly devoted auto industry. Meanwhile, as wages continue to rage in the People’s Republic of China, car manufacturers have responded by seeking out more expensive, higher quality car products. They have also increased their productivity in an effort to reduce their tendency to rely on low cost labor.

Time will only tell what effect this will have on the American auto parts industry. But at this point, it is safe to say that the competition is on.