Well....that was a nice rant. I believe the supposition is that while the actual hardware store is not Chinese, the products contained therein might well be Chinese-produced and therefore cutting corners and skimping on quality.
You can sup whatever the hell you want but that won't make it fact or even sensible. The original post was silly, this is supposed to be a machinist forum. Ten seconds with a set of $5 calipers will answer the question.
But the retarded post I replied to is shit. Stupid, ignorant, assholian shit. There is no Chinese-native wire sold in the US. Romex is not common in China and households run on 220v, not 110, so the wire size is totally different. I also don't remember seeing any labelling on electrical wire but if they did, it would be in Chinese and metric, not imperial and English.
So, for people with an IQ over five, any wire sold in the US that could possibly be sourced in China would be SPECCED AND PURCHASED BY US RETAILERS.
Because you apparently never owned or possibly even worked in an actual machining business, here's a clue -- vendors create what the buyer contracts for. If there is undersized wiring of a Chinese source in the US, it's because Walmart, Lowes, or whoever specified, ordered, inspected, and paid for it. This has
nothing to do with bullshit "quality" claims by internet assholes slinging vomit.
Got to hell, Gordon. You are dishonest.