Even before China became the world's No 1 manufacturing base in 2010, the "made-in-China" label was everywhere.

Books, such as A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy by American journalist Sara Bongiorni, testified to the omnipresence of China-made goods.

Yet that same book also noted the embarrassing fact that the made-in-China label was by and large a down-market signifier.