News on China's scientific and technological development.

Eventine said:

Korea has players in almost every industry, but they are not competitive because they decided to focus their efforts into a smaller set of key industries. The four you listed are prominently known, but Korea was/is actually also competitive in appliances, chemical engineering, machine tools, automation (e.g. robotics), weapons manufacturing, and more. Obviously you can make the point that all of these industries are industries China is also interested in, but the question is not one of interest - it's one of opportunity cost.

In the simplest example, let's say Country A has 100 people and 10 industries to invest them in; it could start off by putting 10 people in each industry. If Country B, their competition, only has 15 people, their best play is to invest all 15 people in 1 of the 10 industries - ie "specialization" - so that they can beat Country A's investment. Country A can of course reinforce that industry with more people to match or beat Country B's investment, but then it'd be taking those people away from other industries, making those industries weaker. Country B can then pivot to those industries instead, in a never ending cat and mouse game, until eventually both countries reach an equilibrium and just agree that 1 of the 10 industries will belong to Country B.

That is the game Korea could have played, based on the principle of comparative advantage. Even if it cannot keep hold of the four industries you mentioned, it could have redirected and focused its resources to some other industry like chemical engineering or robotics, and dominated that, instead. Sure, China has a lot more resources (in talent, money, etc.) than Korea, but distributed across many different industries, it can only devote so much to any one thing. That's what leads to specialization and the creation of global supply chains; because at the end of the day, if we ignore geopolitics, resources are just resources - there's no reason why Chinese companies would not find a use for Korea's resources in their supply chain.

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The issue is that China could invest in every industry and still have STEM personnel and investment money to spare.

So China has an absolute advantage in every industry, not just a comparative advantage.

If you look at annual STEM graduates which are useful, it does look like China has more than the rest of the world combined. Looking at China and Korea specifically, it looks like a 44x difference.

AndrewS said:

The issue is that China could invest in every industry and still have STEM personnel and investment money to spare.

So China has an absolute advantage in every industry, not just a comparative advantage.

If you look at annual STEM graduates which are useful, it does look like China has more than the rest of the world combined. Looking at China and Korea specifically, it looks like a 44x difference.

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This is where China has absolute advantage over WEST/JAPAN/KOREA.. there is also fierce competition going between local governments in order to invest in High tech industries. everybody wants piece of slice.

except Civil aviation(COMAC), China has multiple companies in each and every high tech industry. for example, Five-Axis High end Machine tools, there are 5 known Chinese companies competing with each other and rapidly gaining market share.. 6 out of 10 are domestic companies in this category in mainland in H1,2024 ..

even the Most technological advanced industry, Lithography. 4 Major players showed up. SMEE/CETC/CIOMP/SIOMP. all are developing Litho separately. 7 different light source have developed by 7 difference institutes so far. LOL

in Turbofan Engine industry, we have Four Major players. Liming/Xian/AECC Shanghai and Guiyang

in Heavy duty Gas turbine industry we have Three Major players. Shanghai/Dongfeng/Harbin

in Industrial Robot category, we have 7 different companies. most of these companies now developed core parts in house. domestic companies captured 50 percent market share already.

Shipbuilding , Electronics , display , Auto , Aerospace , Military aviation and many more all have multiple companies..

the List is so long..
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Nobody can compete with China. this is because of ''largest Talent pool in Human history'' plus our local governments are rich. so they can spend money.

Full story in the posted link

A model of a hydrogen fuel cellshunting locomotive is on display at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 26, 2024. New technologies and applications such as intelligent robots, unmanned vehicles and AI applications are gaining popularity at the ongoing China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)

NANNING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Guided by remote control, a mechanical loader can upload tonnes of materials or even transport them to production lines -- all without a driver behind the wheel.

This intelligent loader, developed and manufactured by China's Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co., Ltd., is gaining popularity among mining and construction companies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

"Catering to demands for high-end, diversified, and personalized products in the construction machinery market, LiuGong has focused on the electrification, digitization, interconnectivity and intelligence of machinery, with double-digit annual growth in R&D investment," said Li Dongchun, a senior manager of the company.

At the ongoing China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the construction machinery maker is showcasing eight electric products, including loaders, excavators and forklifts in response to growing interest in Chinese-made smart and green products across ASEAN countries.

China-ASEAN trade has recorded steady expansion over the years. Official data showed that China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, with bilateral trade surging from 876.4 billion yuan (about 124.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2004 to 6.41 trillion yuan in 2023, averaging an 11-percent annual growth rate.



An interactive robot is pictured at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 26, 2024. Nanning. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)



An exhibitor introduces an automatic apron for drones at the booth of China Southern Power Grid during the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 25, 2024.(Xinhua/Jin Haoyuan)



A manned aircraft is on display at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)



A delivery drone is pictured at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Haoyuan)



An electric car is on display at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 26, 2024.(Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)



A model of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) is on display at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)