If they could produce products of the same quality as other countries, why don't they? My hypotheses is that the cheap labor allows them to build three to get one right.
My industry is a bit different then e-cigs, but the Chinese product is bottom of the barrel. They are great at mass production, but not making a lasting product. They are willing to replace but not improve.
Many industries began before the industrial revolution. At that time, building something well was a must. It would take too much time to build another if the first went bad. China didn't experience that. They bought the machines to stamp out the products. So they came into the business in a different way. They need to limit the amount of metal in an item, or limit the amount of labor. Or use cheaper metal.
One example with the SX mini is the finish... Why not use a more durable finish? That's one consistency I've seen in Chinese anodizing/finishing. It's constantly bad.
Now, it's very unlikely an American company could make it cheaper. But, I can guarantee they could make it better. The problem is that once they do they Chinese will knock it off and sell a clone. That's why they deserve the same.
Well, what you experience is a product of two things.
Chinese companies that want to stay in business have to cater to the buyers, that is usually a western company that shops their orders around on a price basis. Once western consumers have been numbed to the horrendous quality, so what if the return rate is very high, we'll still make money. Gotta keep the investors happy you know.
The American industrial base isn't what it once was. Find an American made electric motor for example. I doubt if you can. What I'm getting at here is that once you don't produce things for years, the knowledge goes away. Plus the factories don't exist. Ask Motorola, they couldn't even assemble mobile phones in the US, no experience in the workforce for such things.
So, you're going to find that more and more the US is a raw material country, not a manufacturer. One thing that will do and has already done in many cases is the design will not be US/western either. If you don't build things, you soon find that you don't really understand how to make them. If you don't understand how to make them, you won't be able to design them.
Seagate and many others started down this path years ago and got little blowback. Now, you buy something and shake the dice. Can you name a few US made items that you bought in the last few years?
I'm way unhappy about my finish on the SXMini, but Yihi will make it right.
