I think the distinction made earlier (can’t recall who brought it up) about innovative societies versus societies who just copy what others are doing is the key thing here.
The difference boils down to whether or not a country has laws and enforcement policies to protect intellectual property. China is notorious for piracy and corporate espionage. Until intellectual property is taken seriously over in China, companies there have little incentive to innovate, thus you will not be running a PC with chips designed by a Chinese company anytime soon. Similarly, you won’t be taking any medications developed in China in the foreseeable future. There’s just no incentive to innovate when it doesn’t lead to a competitive advantage due to copying.
