Behind It: Foreign Ventures Shifting Focus, and Locals Boosted by WTO Status Price Pressure on U.S. Griddles When Philips Electronics NV began prospecting for opportunities in China in the early 1980s, the Dutch company adopted the hot strategy of the time: produce and sell locally. Back then, China was thought to be a land of unlimited demand. But the same low wages that foreign companies loved because they kept production costs down also reduced the purchasing power of Chinese consumers. What's more, Chinese knockoffs of the foreign companies' goods made competition tougher. So, many foreign-based manufacturers, with plants in place...