You're exactly right in this comment. A lot of the commenters in this thread appear to be completely unaware of how massive of a shift has occurred with the di

You're exactly right in this comment. A lot of the commenters in this thread appear to be completely unaware of how massive of a shift has occurred with the dictatorship of Xi Jinping. Xi is not Hu Jintao (whom he had marched out of the CCP Congress in public view for maximum humiliation). He is not only a dictator, but also deeply insecure. This isn't another highly competent "engineer turned leader" like his predecessors. Xi is a thoroughly mediocre, lifelong political creature. He has consolidated power to the greatest degree since Chairman Mao, and has turned the CCP into a cult of personality. He is running the Chinese economy off a cliff, meaning that China's ability to develop the tech domestically is cratering. It's hard to emphasize how different China is than before 2012. If a leader like Hu Jintao was running China, they would be able to develop this tech relatively quickly. But Xi? Everything he micromanages turns to shit.