Made in China by AXL Guitars - Licensed Fender Stratocaster based on the US Standard - Preceeds the current Fender China production factories.
Apparently Fender Licensed AXL to make a US style Stratocaster within China, that would be cheap enough to compete with the rampant counterfeit products being made in the country at the time. The release of an affordable, and official Strat with the same USA hallmarks undermined the market of fakes.
Feels just like a US Fender but isn’t! A rare piece of history in some ways!