Once the "American Dream Factory," it now looks like an old assembly line, jammed to the point of heartbreak— from the Manhattan Project to the Apollo moon landing, the U.S. once crushed the world with national will, but what about now? On the track of "major national weapons," China has been on a roll, accelerating with the advantages of its system: talent chain, industry chain, capital chain, technology stacking, and the entire national industrialization process all contributing.
Looking at the U.S., the two parties bicker, private enterprises outsource for short-term profits, leading to industrial hollowing and brain drain. Even with more money, they can't turn things around. Except for SpaceX, which is an "outsider" shining in the market mechanism, the U.S. basically faces a "desert without hope" in major innovation projects. The success of SpaceX? Haha, maybe just a fleeting example, not turning into the mainstream. Historical shifts are inevitable; in this "competition of major weapons," why is the U.S. decline so obvious?
Looking back at America's "golden age," its execution was textbook-level. During World War II, the Manhattan Project, from 1942 to 1945, the U.S. government really invested heavily, directly pouring in $3 billion. They gathered the world's top scientists and mobilized 100,000 workers, integrating 37 national laboratories and 2,000 companies. This way, the boundaries between academia, military, and industry were broken. As a result, within three years, it went from theoretical research on the atomic bomb to successfully creating the atomic bomb, which is simply a legendary story of wartime mobilization!
During the Cold War, when the Soviet Union's Sputnik satellite flew up, the U.S. was shocked. President Kennedy made a bold promise in 1961 that "within ten years, we will land on the moon," and as a result, mobilized over 300 universities, 20,000 companies, and 400 research institutions. In 1969, Armstrong stepped on the moon, and it also triggered a big boom in semiconductor, materials, and communication technologies. Military production was even more astonishing; Ford Company built the world's largest aircraft factory during WWII, producing one B-17 bomber every 63 minutes, with a monthly output of 650, making Nazis and Japan exclaim, "We can't keep up!"
But now, the U.S. is like a middle-aged man going downhill, with social divisions, collusion between politics and business, rampant institutional corruption, economic "deindustrialization," fragmented supply chains, a shortage of skilled workers, and the public mindset shifting from "optimistic and upward" to "pessimistic and self-consuming." Over the past decade, the most embarrassing thing has been California High Speed Rail: starting in 2008, budgeted at $33 billion, planned to be completed by 2020, but by 2025, it's still dragging along, with costs jumping to $100 billion, and the completion date pushed to 2033.
When it comes to building high-speed rail, China is definitely a "master among masters," like a Ph.D. student; but the U.S. is far behind compared to China, only a "beginner student." Look at the U.S., almost every important high-speed rail project is over budget and delayed, as if it has become a "late-stage procrastination."
Looking at the aircraft carrier: the U.S. Ford-class, the first electromagnetic catapult nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, started construction in 2015, originally scheduled to be delivered in 2022, but due to technical failures, it hasn't fully formed combat capability yet, and even couldn't launch the F-35 stealth fighter. In contrast, China's Fujian aircraft carrier completed the electromagnetic catapult takeoff and landing test of the J-35 stealth fighter, J-15T, and KJ-600 early warning aircraft in 2025, and showed off its muscle in the ninth sea trial, expected to be commissioned by the end of the year. Fujian's "first date" was so smooth, while the U.S. Ford-class is like a "failed matchmaking" repeatedly struggling.
In the space field, it's even more embarrassing. The U.S. "Artemis" program aimed to return to the moon in 2024, but at least 8 out of 13 key items have seriously lagged behind, pushing Artemis II to April 2026, and Artemis III to mid-2027. China's manned spaceflight has steadily advanced, and a manned moon landing before 2030 is almost certain. The U.S. is eager to "get ahead of China," but its progress is like a tortoise, basically "unable to catch up."
Regarding sixth-generation fighter development, the U.S. has "great ambition but insufficient capability": Boeing's F-47, awarded a contract in 2025, is expected to make its first flight in 2028, and enter service in the 2030s. However, many people think this is still a "PPT project," and it's uncertain whether it will be operational by 2040. China, on the other hand, had two prototypes (J-36 and J-50) fly in December 2024, and is expected to be operational by 2030. Later, there was also a third sixth-generation fighter from Xi'an Aircraft, which is currently being tested. The U.S. admits that China may achieve initial combat capability first — this gap is like "the U.S. is chasing the tail light, while China has already overtaken."
On September 3, 2025, during the victory day parade, China showcased multiple tailless unmanned fighters, whose performance indicators far exceed the U.S.'s collaborative operation drones. These drones are designed for stealth and long-range flights, combined with manned aircraft operations. China is ahead of the U.S. in many fields, such as laser weapons, hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles, and microwave weapons, where we are far ahead. Just during the parade, those three anti-drone weapons called "anti-drone trio" made a striking debut, dazzlingly bright. But the U.S. is still desperately catching up.
Even in rocket artillery, tanks, drones, and robotic dogs, China leads comprehensively. The parade displayed advanced rocket artillery systems, the 100 main battle tank, various types of drones, and armed robotic dogs, which greatly surpass the U.S. in practical adaptability and production.
In strategic weapons, China has deployed the DF-61 and JL-3, while the U.S. is still using the Minuteman III from 60 years ago. Intelligence shows that China's shipbuilding capacity is 200 times that of the U.S., and its ammunition production far exceeds that of the U.S. The U.S. military cannot even cover the "missile gap." It is estimated that the U.S. production capacity is less than a fraction of China's, and in long-term conflicts, it lacks "endurance."
In the field of artificial intelligence, the U.S. chip export restrictions intended to strangle China, but instead became a "catalyst." China accelerated to get rid of reliance on American GPUs, with Huawei's Ascend series strongly replacing NVIDIA's computing power. By 2025, the training computing power of Huawei's AI large model has reached 70% domestication, and the performance of the Ascend chips is approaching or even surpassing NVIDIA A100 in some aspects, combined with domestic frameworks, building an independent AI ecosystem.
The difference in execution between China and the U.S. is clear. China is like the peak of the U.S.: well-funded, complete industrial chain, emerging talents, and a super-strong government mobilization ability, with society "achieving what they desire." The U.S., however, is underfunded, with declining industries, talent loss, inefficient government, and social division. Some Americans still want to use "Cold War tricks" to create the illusion of "number one," but reality is "having the desire but lacking the strength"—facing China's "surge" in economy, technology, and military, the U.S. is stumbling, like netizens' complaints, "too tired to compete, too lazy to lie down."
We compare China and the U.S., not to "laugh at them," but to learn lessons and firmly uphold the Chinese path. China is moving forward vigorously, with goals beyond surpassing the U.S., but also making life better for 1.4 billion people, and contributing to global peace. In the future, China will continue to have "miracle moments" of surpassing the U.S. We are so fortunate— in this competition of major weapons, the U.S. may truly "not be able to recover."
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7562533227647353395/
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