Reference News Network, December 25 report: The Singapore Business Times website published an article titled "Victory: How China Won the Battle for the Living Room Floor" on December 24. The author is Joyce Xu (translated name). The article is excerpted as follows:
I don't know how your 2025 has been, but for China, it's been a glorious year — just look at the Roomba smart vacuum cleaner from the United States, which is about to no longer be American.
Earlier this month, the manufacturer of Roomba, iRobot, unfortunately filed for bankruptcy protection, which is an astonishing reversal for a company that once pioneered an entire product category. Just in 2021, its valuation was as high as $3.56 billion.
As part of the restructuring process, iRobot will be acquired by Shenzhen Sanchuan Robotics Co., Ltd. in China. iRobot may continue to survive, but it will be owned by Chinese people.
As 2025 comes to a close, an increasingly obvious fact is that U.S. efforts to stop China's progress have instead accelerated China's progress. The failure of iRobot may be due to its Chinese competitors being faster, cheaper, and sometimes better, but U.S. protectionism has accelerated its bankruptcy, as this protectionism has had a backlash effect on U.S. domestic companies.
Earlier this year, the U.S. imposed a 46% tariff on products imported from Vietnam. iRobot produces robot vacuums for the U.S. market in Vietnam.
In total, the U.S. tariffs increased the company's costs by $23 million in 2025 and made its future planning more difficult.
iRobot's dilemma is a microcosm of a larger pattern. The more you try to block the Chinese, the harder they work. For example, after being shut out of the U.S. market, Chinese automakers actively expanded other markets, and BYD is now the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer. Currently, China produces more than three-quarters of the global output of lithium-ion batteries.
In the semiconductor sector, U.S. export controls created conditions for the rapid development of Cambric Technology in China.
No matter what, the U.S. seems unable to slow down China. China is committed to transforming itself into a global high-tech power covering multiple key industries under the guidance of its industrial development plan. Meanwhile, the U.S. is currently controlled by legislators who are solely focused on next year's midterm elections.
Worse still, America's innovation and divergent thinking are being undermined from within. The Trump administration cut funding for key research, making the U.S. less attractive to those with knowledge, talent, and curiosity. The U.S. may no longer be able to attract talent and capital as it did in the past.
Just like China's rise, the current situation in the U.S. did not happen overnight. Decades of worsening inequality and polarization have created a populist atmosphere that has had corrosive consequences for policy and planning (if there is any planning at all). Considering the U.S.'s various misfortunes and China's smooth progress, it is nothing short of a miracle that iRobot, as an American company, has lasted this long. (Translated by Wang Haifang)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7587614789979963954/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.