Dongguan , China ( CNN ) -- The Chinese factory floor ai n't what it used to be . Heavy industry machines now sit idle , where once hundreds of workers would have crammed into Dickensian sweat shops , slaving away for little pay . China 's army of migrant workers are smarter than ever , demanding higher pay and better conditions , armed with tough government labor laws . Ben Schwall has ridden the wave of China 's economic boom and now says the tide is turning . `` When I first came to China you had 200 people outside the factory gate trying to get in , '' he says . `` People would ask favors -- 'can you get my cousin a job ? ' Now that 's gone and I 'm asking -- 'do you have a cousin who can come help me ? ' '' Schwall is an old-style middle man . For two decades he 's matched product-hungry Western companies with Chinese manufacturers . It worked for him , and it worked for the buyer and the supplier . But it also left him branded a traitor : an American helping China steal American jobs . It 's a catch-cry that 's making a comeback in this U.S. election year . Already anti-Chinese television commercials are playing to blue-collar fears . Schwall says it is nonsense . `` China 's not taking these jobs , the jobs have left ... the question is where are they landing ? '' he says . Yes , it is true those jobs landed in their millions in China , transforming mid-sized towns into booming cities . China became the world 's factory , running up breakneck economic growth . But Schwall says that was another era . `` Cheap China '' is finished . Increased costs , he says , are just part of the equation . The nature of work in China is changing ; out with the old dirty factory jobs and in with cleaner high-tech industries . Yang Chunhong is feeling the brunt of these changes . He was once a factory worker himself . Now he is the boss and simply ca n't find enough staff . The orders keep coming , he says , but who will fill them ? `` The lack of workers will definitely have an impact on my business . We turned down many orders from our clients because we do n't have enough workers to make these products . It definitely has a huge impact , '' he says . While bosses may struggle , for now at least China 's army of migrant workers is reaping the rewards . Hu Yalan , 23 , came here to Guangdong in southern China from her home province two years ago . Her first job paid her RMB1700 a month , about $ 300 . Now she wants double that and is scouring Guangdong 's busy job market to upgrade . `` I think it 's a matter of improving my ability , '' she says . There are big factories offering `` good salary '' and `` job training , '' she says . China is following a path chartered by the United States a generation ago . It is in transition . Old industries will fold as it enters a new era of higher paid , smarter work . Ironically , President Obama is leading the call for manufacturing to return stateside . It is seen as an answer to America 's stubbornly high unemployment . Old China hands like Ben Schwall say , forget about it . `` The reality is jobs like this are not coming back to the U.S . It may be unpleasant , you may say I 'm un-American but it is just the reality of it , '' he says . But with an election looming , that 's not really a message U.S. politicians are keen to send to disenchanted voters . In meetings in Washington with China 's presumptive President , Xi Jinping , President Obama has continued to raise his concerns about China 's economic policies , what he argues is an artificially low currency and unfair export advantage . China 's real challenge is to bridge the gap between the old and new industries , between the low paid and better paid , more demanding workers . If it fails the task , China may soon have its own political slogan : `` India is stealing Chinese jobs ! ''
One U.S. middle man in China says `` the jobs have left '' Chinese workers are demanding better pay , conditions . The United States has been a major source of foreign labor for decades and is now one of its biggest trade partners. Jobs wo n't return to the U.S. , Schwall says , asking `` where will they land ''