No, I refuse to buy Chinese if there's an option available. For low end electronics, like calculators and such, there are virtually no options. For scopes, scales and other things, there still are.
I have no problem buying foreign products, as long as they're good quality. Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski, Kowa, no problem at all. My issues with China relate to shoddy quality and blatant disregard for international trade laws. Someone mentioned low-end Leupold's being made in China, but I don't believe that's correct. There HAVE been quite a few "high end" models of "Leupolds" that were made in China recently, and marketed here at discount prices. Leupold markings, the whole nine yards. And totally unrelated and unauthorized by Leupold. There was a piece on Leupold's website some time back warning about these fakes. Leupold only discovered this when they had some defective scopes come back for servicing that had serial numbers they'd never made. Closer examination showed that they weren't true Leupolds at all, just a cheap copy. I don't doubt that they CAN produce good products if they want to, but I haven't seen much of that so far. Some years back I ordered a reloading scale for my own use. I wanted a high-end lab grade scale, and went with a well known US maker. Ordered one, to the tune of $1,500. When it arrived, it was marked "Made in China." It went right back, without weighing a single charge, case or bullet, for the sole reason that it was made in China. Wound up ordering a German made scale for considerably less, that I've been quite happy with ever since.
Bottom line for me is, it's not in our best interests to further the technological infrastructure of China, or their ability to manufacture high tech items that have military applications. At some point in the not too distant future, we're going to be on the wrong end of those scopes.
