In China you have your main contact in sales, who this account manager was, but they are relatively limited in what they can do for you other than liaise between you and the other employees that may or may not speak English. Some of the time, you end up stonewalled because of the limited responsibility they have, as well as wanting to save face. In these cases, you often have to reach out to the owner or the factory manager and have a conversation to "re-align your expectations". It is amazing what a quick conversation on WeChat (which automatically translates) with someone can do that even weeks of emailing couldn't do.

These are some of the most important things I've learned dealing with (and being burnt by) Chinese manufacturers. Always have multiple contacts at a company that you maintain a relationship with, and never accept dealing through an intermediary. If the intermediary is being cut in for introducing you, so be it, but always have direct contacts at the factory (even in North America).

Whether or not the people running the project are good people doing the best they can is irrelevant. Based on my personal experiences with manufacturing facilities (especially in Asia), and the low level of real experience behind the vast majority of Kickstarters, I simply don't trust any project to actually be successful.