Yeah, the Chinese are/were buying up all kinds of Walnut in the states as well, even a large mill operation or two there. The standards for milling precision were pretty rough in the beginning when milled in China, but they seem to have much upgraded their equipment. They are cheapos when giving you some extra thickness, 5/4 is like exactly 5/4, compared to most other people that will give you some extra, which can be real helpful. No doubt importing for both domestic use and to export, some of it the wood has ended up in my shop. I've seen some of their furniture, often copies of standard designs, like out of Europe, unbelievably cheap priced and though it may appear cosmetically good upon a first observation, if you look into the details of construction, it is generally crap or one step above. There is a tradition there for excellent and complex woodwork, but that was long ago. Shipping logs isn't that expensive compared to what the profit from doing it can bring. China doesn't have much hardwood of it's own these days, but they have the money to spend importing it.
