3 ms·
Presumably plenty of higher end shops in China could produce such a ball, but inertia and economies of scale from current producers probably make it less valuab
by redwood 11y ago
Presumably plenty of higher end shops in China could produce such a ball, but inertia and economies of scale from current producers probably make it less valuable to pursue.
Some high end optics, semiconductors, etc perhaps China really cannot yet produce.
- tyingq 11y agoThe article claims that they could produce such a ball, but choose not to because of the high initial investment combined with the weak IP law in China. No sense in footing the bill for the needed R&D, when your investment will be quickly stolen by the local competition.
- pcrh 11y agoI suspect IP isn't really the question here. After all, the required balls are made in "Germany, Switzerland or Japan" so I doubt they couldn't be made in China, if someone wished to. On another note, the article neatly taps into the chip many Chinese have on their shoulder when it comes to be recognized as "equal" to Western countries. In reality, and according to the principle of comparative advantage, no two countries would ever be equal in all things. And that's not a bad thing.
- tyingq 11y agoI'm no expert, but we do import quite a bit of a specific type of electronics from China. The various companies steal from each other with impunity. Not just ideas...like specific microcode for example. The physical proximity, plus the fact that it's not technically illegal makes it easy. Stealing from Germany/Switzerland/Japan might have consequences, at least for exporting to where you stole from. It's also not as easy as just hiring away an expert from down the street.