Figure 8 shows that Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Taipei,China; and Thailand are key auto producers in East Asia. The PRC; Indonesia; Taipei,China; and Thailand are production bases for MNCs. Japanese MNCs dominate the international production networks in East Asia. Western firms began establishing production bases in East Asia after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Only the PRC is equally important as a production base for Europe, Japan and US MNCs.