There's quite a bit of repetition so I'll just concentrate on the new.
Please tell me what new technology has come out of China?
They've copied ALL of Russian space technology. Their spacecraft are almost identical.
Fighter aircraft are all Russian design, apart from some crude prototypes.
Their small arms are nearly all knock-offs.
You just have to go into a cheapo computer shop to see the Chinese brands. Where is the innovation?
In fact, AFAIK, Western goods manufactured in China are all subject to increased failure rates since that started. Their QC is not great. Even their cars are dodgy (Geely) with some of the lowest safety standards in the industry.
And don't come with these "in 10 years time" predictions. You and I both know that in 10 years we will both have forgotten what you said.
I think this thread is going off topic but I'll oblige.
Chinese products? Well virtually all electronics get assembled in China and many components are built there. Take the iPod for instance, that's made entirely in China, although designed by Apple in Cuppertino, CA.
Computers? Lenovo? Many people swear by those.
And if you want to look at the future of Chinese development look at 2 things.
1. Their past. Not long ago - 20-30 years, China was a poor country, suffering in industry and mostly producting agricultural goods.
Look at CHina now, sure - it's largely Western capital, but the pay the Chinese govt collects and the technology transfer which occurs all favour China.
2. Look at their neighbours. Look at Taiwan. Free market economy although of the Asian variety ie production driven economics with exports. Look at Macau and Hong Kong. Look at Singapore.
Look further at Japan. Back in the 50-70's Japanese products were seen as junk, now they rival with German and US produced goods, and they do their own development. As said the JMSDF is the second most powerful navy in the world with much native technology. What natural resources has Japan? What percentage arable land?
What incredible natural disasters? Anyway contrast that with Russia,
and it's a pity you didn't read that write up from Friedman's Stratfor because it mentioned many reasons why Russia has always had it tough - rivers which flow in wrong directions, vast expanses of land which make transport expensive etc. Anyway to predict where China will be one only has to look at South Korea and Japan right now.
One could argue that the boom which has propelled Chinese economic growth will die down with the economy but that will impact Russia even more anyhow. The economy will ultimately pickup as will the internal Chinese domestic market.
Of course China will not better the US because of many reasons but it has bettered Russia already. Chinese goods, although you say of lower QC,
are better in quality than Russian goods. Secondly Russia doesn't even produce that much, they've been pissing their wealth away - the wealth they got from expensive oil and natural gas prices - instead of building industries they spent it on luxuries and now on re-armament.
Russia has some great technologies. The Russian space program was mostly home built - the Russians captured very few Nazi V1/V2 engineers and had to rely on their own scientists. They have the biggest freight aircraft and the biggest submarine. They have great aircraft and the biggest ICBM supply - bigger than the US. They have some deadly surface-to-ship missiles and upcoming stealth technology but to think that the Chinese who at one stage had the most advanced civilisation on earth cannot develop is ridiculous.
They started later than the Soviets but they surpassed them and they
have also bettered Russia. In fact China is a big customer for Russia although
many Chinese eye the vast empty expanses of Russian territory and itch for it too.
