The Western Illusion of Chinese Innovation
Many Western observers – in media, academia, and government – now portray China as a fierce competitor for global technological supremacy, with top-down industrial policies that are enabling it to stand virtually shoulder-to-shoulder with Europe and the US. This is a serious misrepresentation.
VANCOUVER – Over the past two decades, China has been achieving rapid technological progress, thanks in no small part to its massive investment in research and development, which totaled some 2.2% of its GDP last year. Yet China is nowhere near the technological frontier. In fact, the distance separating it from that frontier is far greater than most people recognize.