China Losing Its Competititve Edge?

London's Financial Times reports that according to a Hong Kong based trade sourcing group China is suffering a decline in competitiveness.  The causes are the global rise in energy costs, higher labor costs, and currency reevaluation.  China is now not the most cost effective place in the Asian region to manufacture goods such as textiles and this could help India, Bangladesh and Cambodia.  One also has to wonder if the new taxes being placed on luxury goods and even disposable chopsticks to close the wealth gap between rich and poor will also slow down the economy in China which has been on a tear in recent years.