Yes the Chinese Asians almost always miss the point or things in America especially. It took Toyota like 15-20 years to design a full size truck that Americans would buy. Not because their engineers are bad they just did not understand this market and what the buyers wanted. It was not until they let California and Detroit design teams take the lead that they hit the Jack Pot with the Tundra.
The Chinese often see something that American likes and they miss understand what it is they like about it. They often get some of the design elements right but they fail to capture the experience, tactile feel, performance and often the design ends up a bit odd because they do not actual understand what it is we really like about something that is old.
I deal with China, Taiwan, Ukraine and Russia for machined parts. The problem with China especially is they will build cheap if that is what you want. Their are limits to what most companies I deal with in Taiwan and Europe will do with regard to saving money on a design and they will tell you "No" at some point. I have never had a company on the main land of China tell me "No". The problem is you do not always know what your going to get in the end until you get it! I also find that Chinese companies with cheapen your design any place they think they can. Normally it is using cheaper grade of plastic than what you specified or skipping complicated heat treatment or using wires that have less copper in them but large insulation often cheaper than specified as well. So you have to specify a higher grade than you need because you know they will lower it once you agree to pre-production prototypes. You almost have to put your own people in QC if you actually want to keep the lemons off the ship to you.
Luckily today I do not have those worries I only contract for limited runs of parts and I deal mostly with Taiwan and Europe. The biggest problem is that so many people in North America and Europe want the absolute cheapest price that you seldom see what China can actual do. No one stops to think that their computer, tv, microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator and a lot of other parts in larger assemblies are all made in China.
If some one in the USA or Europe designed a D104 mic and paid a competent OEM in China to build it you could have a nice mic at a still very good price point that would last. That is just not what people are asking for though! You definitely would not want to let a Chinese firm design it! The down side is you would have to deal with all the counterfeits made from your design!