The West’s Blind Spots on Chinese Innovation

In June of 2023, I landed at SFO Airport in San Francisco after a long-haul flight from Brussels. I was tired and had to endure another long wait in line at border control.

When the officer finally checked my passport, he asked me:

“Sir, what brings you to the United States?”

I replied that I was invited to give a talk about Chinese innovation. He responded:

“Chinese innovation? Isn’t that an oxymoron?”

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Unfamiliar with the meaning of the word at the time, I hastily replied, “Yes.” Later, I learned that an oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms—China and innovation, in his view. He seemed happy with my positive answer, so I was allowed to enter the United States of America. Only later did I realize I had unintentionally lied to a U.S. government official.

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Nine years earlier, in 2014, Vice President Joe Biden delivered a commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, saying:

“I challenge you, name me one innovative project, one innovative change, one innovative product that has come out of China?”

Could this border official have been one of the thousands of cadets graduating that day?

This raises the question: What did we miss that prevented us from seeing the rise of Chinese innovation?

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China’s Innovation Journey

Back in 2014, I lived in China, selling software development platforms to many research institutes and technology companies across the country. Every year since 1999, I had witnessed how quickly scientific competence in China was growing.

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From 2008 onwards, it became increasingly difficult to sell Western high-tech products in China, as the Chinese claimed they could build them themselves—which they often could.

For me, the idea that China would become a global innovation leader was written in the stars, and surely since 2015, when innovation became a national plan with clear targets:

• Step 1: By 2020 — Join the group of innovative countries.
• Step 2: By 2030 — Belong to the top of innovative countries.
• Step 3: By 2050 — Grow into a global innovation powerhouse.

Step 1 was achieved well before 2020. The scale, speed, and agility of China’s innovation were unmatched anywhere else in the world.

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With the fastest-growing middle class (over 400 million people today), China became a goldmine for any consumer-facing brands. Chinese tech giants led innovations in mobile payments, super apps, e-commerce, live streaming, FinTech, and more. China also appeared unmatched in adopting any new technologies. The new ABC of China emerged: ‘AI, Big Data, and Cloud Computing.’

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Step 2 should be achieved by 2030. According to many China watchers, myself included, China already belongs to the top group of innovative countries. Even Joe Biden acknowledges this, as he views China’s technological advancements as the greatest concern for U.S. national security.

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In Europe, a wake-up call came in 2023 with the influx of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). When China reopened, executives of European car brands were blown away by the innovation advancements Chinese car brands displayed. Three years was all China needed to take the lead in EVs.

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Step 3 is less predictable. Will China one day become a global scientific powerhouse like the United States, and if so, when?

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China is already leading in certain industries, such as battery technologies, but in other sectors like semiconductors, it still lags behind. However, under restrictive conditions, China has still managed to close critical technology gaps, a feat that is more than remarkable. If all barriers were removed, China would quickly become a global scientific powerhouse.

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Three Blind Spots

A decade ago, most Western media and politicians didn’t believe China could innovate. Why? China was seen as a copycat nation with a rote-learning education system, lack of IP protection, reliance on foreign technology, and state-led bureaucracy.

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But China proved us wrong. Still, many Westerners use the same logic to claim China cannot become an innovation superpower.

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Before, we were blinded by hubris—now, we are blinded by fear. These fears lead to three key blind spots:

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1. Our Obsession with Beijing

Western media tends to focus too much on China’s top-down approach, assuming Beijing controls everything. However, the reality is that China’s grassroots innovation is thriving.

While Beijing’s policies can influence industry, real innovation comes from thousands of scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs who are rapidly advancing fields like AI, biotech, healthtech, and agritech.

2. China Exports Overcapacity

The West often sees China’s dominance in manufacturing as dumping cheap goods on the global market. However, China’s ability to scale production, compete fiercely, and refine quality over time is what sets it apart.

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China’s innovation strategy works differently—it prioritizes quantity first, then refines quality, allowing companies to learn quickly and adapt based on customer feedback.

3. A Country in Crisis

Many analysts claim China’s economy is failing due to a declining population, a slowing GDP, and geopolitical tensions. However, what they fail to see is that China is shifting toward a new growth model focused on innovation.

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China’s “New Quality Productive Forces” strategy is designed to upgrade industries, grow emerging sectors, and pioneer future technologies such as 6G, quantum computing, and nuclear fusion.

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Blinded by Fear

Our fear of how China could reshape the global order makes us fail to recognize its innovation momentum.

• We fixate on Beijing’s influence but ignore the bottom-up innovation revolution happening across China.
• We worry about China’s cheap exports but overlook how their hyper-competitive model forces rapid improvement.
• We assume China’s economy is stalling, but fail to see how innovation is driving its next big transformation.

Innovation has become a matter of survival for China. Millions of Chinese citizens are now using their brains, not just their hands, to create groundbreaking advancements.

The message is clear: We must stop underestimating China’s ability to innovate. The longer we cling to old assumptions, the harder it will be for the West to keep up.

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