China persisted. The wholly foreseeable consequence of this mafia-style capitalism was twofold. First, it drove US-based Chinese researchers and developers back to China where they applied their skills. Second, it forced China to develop a resilience and an expansion of research efforts that might not have occurred in a more open trading environment.
If a week is a long time in politics, then five years is an eternity. Five years ago, President Xi launched the “Made in China” as a foundation of China’s 14th five-year plan.
The idea of a competitive China, rather than a poor-house factory, terrified the US, which saw these objectives as an attack on American supremacy. Outside of China, the five-year plan spawned the Chips Act, sanctions, outright bans on competitors like Huawei and a prolonged campaign of anti-China rhetoric.
