Power and Peril: America's Supremacy and Its Limits; Trade-Off: As China Surges, It Also Proves A Buttress to American Strength; Beijing Feeds a Giant Appetite In U.S. for Low-Cost Goods And Borrowed Capital; The Wood-Furniture Paradox
[Second ina Series]</br></br>DONGGUAN, China -- Frank Lin joined fellow Chinese furniture makers at a hotel here last summer to discuss some alarming news from America: U.S. furniture companies were asking Washington to investigate "illegal" Chinese trade practices and restrict Chinese sales to the U.S. Among the petitioners was one of Mr. Lin's longtime customers, Virginia-based Hooker Furniture Corp.</br></br>Mr. Lin's dismay turned to confusion days later when he received an e-mail from Hooker's chief executive. Hooker looked forward to an "exciting future" doing business with China, said the message, and wanted to "continue the extraordinary growth we have had in the last few years with Asian imports."</br></br>Indeed, thanks largely to the imports, Hooker has boomed. It closed a factory in North Carolina last summer but has boosted profits and dazzled investors with a stock that more than quadrupled in two years.</br></br>"I just don't understand what they are doing. It makes no sense," Mr. Lin said after receiving the e-mail in August. On his desk lay designs sent from America. Lining the wall, newly crafted chairs stood ready for inspection by U.S. buyers. "If they don't import, they die. They need us. So why do they want to hurt us?" Mr. Lin wondered.