People make this comparison, because they often times buy crappy products from China that fail, then complain despite the fact they paid a fraction of the cost. All of a sudden, everything made in China is garbage, despite the fact they paid 1/3rd of what it would cost if it were made from a more reputable manufacturer. Like someone else said, everything is made there for the most part and you need to do some light critical thinking to realize that they bought a product made there, underpaid for it, and got what they paid for.
The reverse is also true, though, you can't write off the fact factories in China and Asia are producing crappy products then selling them at a fraction of the cost. There are manufacturers in China making great, high quality products with good QC, there are also places (often in the same factory) that are making garbage products. It's not a monolithic, consistent thing. There are plenty of stories of broken, poor quality cycling components coming from Chinese factories that cost a fraction of the cost from a reputable company.
Paying $300 for carbon wheels though...good luck. They might be great and work fine, they might not, that's the risk you take. If they fail, it's not because the entire country makes crap, it's because you paid for something that was made with little to no QC and the cost reflects that. If they work, then it doesn't mean every other product produced in China is of the same grade and running the same risk will yield the same result.
