Opinion | Apple and Tesla’s success in China shows Sino-US cooperation can be a win-win
- While US policymakers are reeling from a Harvard report on China’s tech superiority, foreign corporations already know that Beijing’s top-down, long-term planning works
- US companies like Apple and Tesla can see the benefits of working with China – perhaps a similar approach is needed at a national level
The Belfer Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School released a paper in December titled “The Great Tech Rivalry: China vs the US”, analysing the technological status of the two giant economies.
The study identified China’s “whole-of-society” approach as the differentiator. But how does this accelerate China’s technological development? The US needs a comprehensive understanding of what has driven China’s innovation abilities in general, so policymakers can develop a more strategic response.
China’s five-year plans lay out the country’s priorities and responses to both domestic and external changes. While US policymakers have long scoffed at China’s top-down planning system, these directives have generally delivered good outcomes, particularly in the past couple of decades.
Today Schmidt insists China has surpassed the US in AI and this is, coincidentally, an area China started focusing on over a decade ago.
