China produces things at a price no one around the world can seem to match. Alexandra Harney has written a book The China Price — The True Cost of Competitive Advantage. Chinese products sell at ultra low prices but China pays a high price in terms of human and environmental cost to become the world’s largest manufacturer. Though China has very good labour laws in place, the working conditions in the factories around China continue to be poor. There is no enforcement of laws at the local government level whose offices are evaluated on the basis of their track record in promoting economic growth.Besides,  there is a dual factory system — the five-star factory which follows the best practices and the shadow factories which violate every law on the books.These shadow factories allow China to offer Wal-Mart low prices. In China, social benefits are tied to the place of birth which is registered and called hokou. Migration deprives people their legal benefits. As factories do not pay social benefits, they can keep prices low. People in north China work in illegal shadow coal mines.Their health deteriorates over a period of time. There are deaths due to pollution. Coal lies at the heart of China price. More than two-third’s of China’s energy supply comes from coal. Though MNCs conduct audits while dealing with the Chinese factories, these audits are perfunctory. Besides MNCs want goods at developing world prices under developed world conditions. This is simply not possible.Factories provide a façade of compliance while dealing with the MNCs, but keep running sweatshops. Falsification of documents have become an art.