It also doesn't hurt that advanced robotics (an area the west has traditionally done well in, sometimes being more advanced) has continued to have breakthroughs

It also doesn't hurt that advanced robotics (an area the west has traditionally done well in, sometimes being more advanced) has continued to have breakthroughs. "lights out" manufacturing[0] can happen with more and more things. The humans in the process can become minimal (thus shifting more costs to fixed capital costs rather than variable costs) [0]: https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/article/2016/10/is-a-robot-after-your-job/9022 https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/article/2016/10/is-a-robot-...