4 ms·

The "China vs America" narrative is unnecessary. If China wants to spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure to develop their region that's a great thing for

The "China vs America" narrative is unnecessary. If China wants to spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure to develop their region that's a great thing for America too. Counterintuitively, it could even be better for the US than China. Eventually the demand for low-margin, subsidized, Chinese steel will flatten, while the demand for high-margin American technology and cultural products will grow.

hemantv 10y ago
without IP these high margin American technology is copyable, which China has already shown they can do that.
- nostromo 10y ago
  American technology companies don't rely on IP restrictions as much as they used to. You couldn't copy Facebook, Google, Apple, or Amazon's products and services effectively on a global scale even if they had no IP restrictions. And China is the second largest market for American movies, which absolutely require IP law to function. So I think this concern is overstated.
  - gaius 10y ago
    Sure. But I predict in 10 years we will all buy Huawei networking kit and everyone will have forgotten there ever was a company called Cisco (for example).
    - prodmerc 10y ago
      Huawei will shamelessly give away all your data to the Chinese government. At the very least it looks like Cisco doesn't willingly do that with the NSA. That should count for something. Else we'll have to learn to trade like the Chinese, and it's almost inconceivable - they'll fuck you the first chance they get, like some third world shithole, they have no principles in my experience.
      - gaius 10y ago
        It's clear that the Chinese are playing economics to win, while the West is playing like it's still just a game. It's kinda weird when you think about it. A Western manager thinks that Chinese or Indians are content to do as they are told and lack the ability or ambition to compete, so just outsource the work. But the truth is they are just as smart as anyone, and have the same aspirations as everyone else and are ruthless about getting it just as the West was in the imperial colonial days.
        prodmerc 10y ago
        Well, I don't care about that, I just want to get what we agreed on, not get good quality samples and then subpar shit that uses cheaper metal for the end product. Also if you want quality control, you need to have your own man doing that as the factory just doesn't give a fuck. I get that it's all cheaper, if that's the problem let it be more expensive, not lower quality.
  - kcanini 10y ago
    China has shown that they are very adept at copying American high-tech innovation. * Facebook: WeChat/Weibo * Google: Baidu * Apple: already being made in China, clones everywhere * Amazon: Alibaba
    - zht 10y ago
      re: Facebook On the contrary, WeChat is leaps and bounds ahead of Facebook Messenger (which is a more direct comparison). If you've watched Facebook Messenger over time, it's actually Facebook Messenger that's aspiring to be the WeChat of the west.
      - prodmerc 10y ago
        I was intrigued by Tencent's offer of 1TB of storage, installed the app and it immediately started uploading all of my phone's content to their cloud. Haha, great fucking service, just amazing.
    - mazerackham 10y ago
      Actually Facebook has shamelessly copy-catted WeChat continuously over the last 2 years
      - thablackbull 10y ago
        We prefer to use the term, seeking inspiration as opposed to copying, over here =P
    - FooBarWidget 10y ago
      Some Chinese products are better, but PLEASE remove Baidu from that list. Baidu has been ridiculous for the past few years: I can't find anything on Baidu, pretty much the entire first page is full of irrelevant ads; all my Chinese friends are complaining about that too. I use Baidu Maps every time I visit China. Heavily disappointed, it comes nowhere near Google Maps's quality.
      - 10y ago
  - ximeng 10y ago
    https://qz.com/981277/the-fast-furious-franchise-is-huge-in-china-but-probably-isnt-making-much-money-there/ https://qz.com/981277/the-fast-furious-franchise-is-huge-in-... Hollywood movies do well in China but aren't particularly profitable.
awkwardtortoise 10y ago
> The "China vs America" narrative is unnecessary. It's central to the current world event. The major theme of the 21st century is going to be china's growth in power vs the US. Power is a zero sum game after all. If china's power increases, it's going to come at the expense of the lone superpower. > If China wants to spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure to develop their region that's a great thing for America too. A china-centered economic order isn't a "great thing for America". > Eventually the demand for low-margin, subsidized, Chinese steel will flatten, while the demand for high-margin American technology and cultural products will grow. What makes you think that china isn't going to take over the high-end steel market too? Unless you think chinese are intellectually incapable of developing high-end steel...
- culturalzero 10y ago
  If they don't all die of lung cancer from the massive pollution they deal with.

hemantv 10y ago

without IP these high margin American technology is copyable, which China has already shown they can do that.

nostromo 10y ago
American technology companies don't rely on IP restrictions as much as they used to. You couldn't copy Facebook, Google, Apple, or Amazon's products and services effectively on a global scale even if they had no IP restrictions. And China is the second largest market for American movies, which absolutely require IP law to function. So I think this concern is overstated.
- gaius 10y ago
  Sure. But I predict in 10 years we will all buy Huawei networking kit and everyone will have forgotten there ever was a company called Cisco (for example).
  - prodmerc 10y ago
    Huawei will shamelessly give away all your data to the Chinese government. At the very least it looks like Cisco doesn't willingly do that with the NSA. That should count for something. Else we'll have to learn to trade like the Chinese, and it's almost inconceivable - they'll fuck you the first chance they get, like some third world shithole, they have no principles in my experience.
    - gaius 10y ago
      It's clear that the Chinese are playing economics to win, while the West is playing like it's still just a game. It's kinda weird when you think about it. A Western manager thinks that Chinese or Indians are content to do as they are told and lack the ability or ambition to compete, so just outsource the work. But the truth is they are just as smart as anyone, and have the same aspirations as everyone else and are ruthless about getting it just as the West was in the imperial colonial days.
      - prodmerc 10y ago
        Well, I don't care about that, I just want to get what we agreed on, not get good quality samples and then subpar shit that uses cheaper metal for the end product. Also if you want quality control, you need to have your own man doing that as the factory just doesn't give a fuck. I get that it's all cheaper, if that's the problem let it be more expensive, not lower quality.
- kcanini 10y ago
  China has shown that they are very adept at copying American high-tech innovation. * Facebook: WeChat/Weibo * Google: Baidu * Apple: already being made in China, clones everywhere * Amazon: Alibaba
  - zht 10y ago
    re: Facebook On the contrary, WeChat is leaps and bounds ahead of Facebook Messenger (which is a more direct comparison). If you've watched Facebook Messenger over time, it's actually Facebook Messenger that's aspiring to be the WeChat of the west.
    - prodmerc 10y ago
      I was intrigued by Tencent's offer of 1TB of storage, installed the app and it immediately started uploading all of my phone's content to their cloud. Haha, great fucking service, just amazing.
  - mazerackham 10y ago
    Actually Facebook has shamelessly copy-catted WeChat continuously over the last 2 years
    - thablackbull 10y ago
      We prefer to use the term, seeking inspiration as opposed to copying, over here =P
  - FooBarWidget 10y ago
    Some Chinese products are better, but PLEASE remove Baidu from that list. Baidu has been ridiculous for the past few years: I can't find anything on Baidu, pretty much the entire first page is full of irrelevant ads; all my Chinese friends are complaining about that too. I use Baidu Maps every time I visit China. Heavily disappointed, it comes nowhere near Google Maps's quality.
    - 10y ago
- ximeng 10y ago
  https://qz.com/981277/the-fast-furious-franchise-is-huge-in-china-but-probably-isnt-making-much-money-there/ https://qz.com/981277/the-fast-furious-franchise-is-huge-in-... Hollywood movies do well in China but aren't particularly profitable.

awkwardtortoise 10y ago

> The "China vs America" narrative is unnecessary. It's central to the current world event. The major theme of the 21st century is going to be china's growth in power vs the US. Power is a zero sum game after all. If china's power increases, it's going to come at the expense of the lone superpower. > If China wants to spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure to develop their region that's a great thing for America too. A china-centered economic order isn't a "great thing for America". > Eventually the demand for low-margin, subsidized, Chinese steel will flatten, while the demand for high-margin American technology and cultural products will grow. What makes you think that china isn't going to take over the high-end steel market too? Unless you think chinese are intellectually incapable of developing high-end steel...

culturalzero 10y ago
If they don't all die of lung cancer from the massive pollution they deal with.