Reference News Network, January 30 report: The website of the UK's Financial Times published an article titled "How China Achieved a Technological Turnaround" on January 26. The author is Chen Kaixin, a researcher at the John L. Thornton Center for U.S.-China Relations at the Brookings Institution. The following is a translated version of the article:
We are witnessing a major reversal in global technology flows. For decades, China has lagged behind the West. Attracted by China's vast market and low-cost labor, American and European companies have sold products to Chinese consumers and established factories in China. Apple and Tesla have built large factories in cities such as Zhengzhou and Shanghai. General Motors and Volkswagen have formed profitable joint ventures with Chinese automakers.
However, the flow of technology between China and the West has become increasingly bidirectional. Today, in more and more product areas, including electric vehicles, batteries, drones, and rare earth magnets, China is at the forefront of the global scene.
This shift is most evident in the electric vehicle and battery sectors, where China has become a global leader. Ford is obtaining battery technology licenses from Chinese company CATL to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries needed for electric vehicles and energy storage in Michigan, USA.
Western automotive manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Stellantis are collaborating with Chinese electric vehicle startups to gain access to Chinese electric vehicle platform technologies. Even Renault, which does not sell cars in China, has established a new research and development center in Shanghai to take advantage of China's electric vehicle technology ecosystem.
This situation is not limited to the automotive industry. In the biotechnology sector, Western pharmaceutical companies are signing multi-billion-dollar technology licensing agreements with Chinese pharmaceutical companies to obtain intellectual property rights. In the field of robotics, U.S. startups are using Chinese hardware platforms for development, such as the flexible G1 humanoid robot from Unitree Robotics. In artificial intelligence, Chinese open-source models such as Alibaba's Qwen series are being used by American developers.
As China continues to climb the technological ladder, Beijing will seek to leverage its cutting-edge innovations while protecting its hard-earned technological advantages, just as Western countries have always done. Now that the pattern of global technology flows has reversed, the question is how Beijing will try to control this situation. (Translated by Lu Di)
Original source: toutiao.com/article/7600966119763771919/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.