Chinese Class A SS

Trelja,
Your list of countries is on target. At this point there are quite a few countries that can offer much cheaper labor than China these days. These countries will experience an increase in their standard of living just as China has over the past 20 to 25 years. Manufacturing jobs will do that for you. 30 years ago who would have thought china would have multiple numbers of millionaires and a middle-class population of its current size. Hello capitalism.
Charles

I own a Cayin 265Ai 40 watt class A integrated amp that I bought here a little over a year ago, and the build and sound quality are really impressive. Beautiful inside and out. Sounds different from my 300b for sure, timbres aren't as lifelike (surprise...) but beats it in the PRAT department. Amazing value.

The point is not that China can't produce quality gear, it's that China has complete disregard for trademarks, patents and making cheap knock offs, to say nothing about the environment or even human rights.  

Yes you can buy reputable brand names made in China.  But you can also buy junk with an expensive brand name on it, ditto with the parts inside.

I'd be cautious with stuff sold on Ebay, many Audioquest and PS Audio knock offs,etc, have been sold there and people ripped off.

I don't dispute that some caution is in order. China is an enormous market with a broad spectrum in regard to quality and ethical standards.  My only point is that you can definitely find high quality products made there. To castigate all their manufacturers is erroneous. 
Charles 

Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Africa, and depending on how the politics go, Cambodia and Myanmar / Burma.

Bando, of Japan..the transformer maker...has been using Indonesia for manufacturing it's main line (ie, bulk of transformers made, in numbers) of transformers, for quite some time now. Open up any Japanese (company) amp from the 70's through the 2010's and you might find a 'Bando' transformer in it.

http://www.bando.com.my/timeline.htm