Good article.
I think the picture will continue to change too. The Chinese now manufacture Schott glass and it is possible that their lenses are better than some others due to no lead and other environmental restrictions. The Chinese are also trying to corner the market on the so called rare earths many of which come from Africa. These are essential for the modern lens coatings as well as computers and other electronics. I do have ethical issues if my binoculars were produced at the expense of miming and road building across the Serengeti and other critical habitats. As always there is no free lunch.
Another issue seems to be what is called quality fade where in an overzealous effort to reduce costs the quality starts to fall by the wayside. I believe this is what happened with the Chinese produced Meopta's. In addition many companies are reluctant to have manufacturing done in China and some other Countries due to the proliferation of knock off products made by the same manufacturers in some cases. Tariffs may enter into the picture too as we have already seen in other industries in the US.
There is no question that the optics available today are some of the best ever, and some are much more affordable.
"When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred." Niccolo Machiavelli
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