China is merging three technologies into a single competitive weapon. In the West we continue to see them as something separate

In 2007, Steve Jobs announced that he was going to present “three revolutionary devices”:

1. A music player with touch screen.
2. A mobile phone.
3. An Internet browser.

Then he revealed that there were not three separate products, but one: the iPhone.

China is doing Something similar to its industrial revolution.

Why is it important. While Europe and the United States deal with 5G, AI and renewable energies as independent sectors that compete for resources and attention, China has merged them into a general purpose technology capable of promoting productivity in all industries at the same time.

The context. The strategy “Made in China 2025“It focused on ten specific priority sectors: from new materials to transport equipment.

Ten years later, China is world leader in several fields (high -speed trains, energy infrastructure …), but continues to depend on foreign technology in more sophisticated areas such as aerospace or high performance medical devices.

In figures. China has reduced its Technological Import Dependency Americans and European: 351 Product categories in 2000 A 177 in 2022. In parallel, the United States and the European Union now depend on China for 953 categories of products, three times more than at the beginning of the century.

What has happened. The approach evolved towards What Xi Jinping calls “new productive forces”concept that put in the center of decisions since 2023.

• He Third Plenary of the Communist Party in 2024 He stressed the need to integrate AI, new materials and quantum technology.
• The key: the deployment of advanced technologies generates domestic demand for them, creating a cycle that further enhances industrial competitiveness.
• Advances in communications, operating systems, clean technologies and biotechnologies improve productivity, safety and quality in other sectors.

A virtuous circle.

Yes, but. This bet directed by the State is face and risky. The allocation of resources can become less efficient and has obvious side effects. Although economic reforms have improved the standard of living of the middle classes, the model focused on industry and technology has damaged the mood of the consumer and its disposition to spending.

The threat. China does not want to rebalance its economy towards consumption and accepts negative – national and international consequences – while pursuing its manufacturing objectives. This includes internal socioeconomic conflicts, commercial surpluses and geopolitical competence by technology.

You will have to address these effects at some point, but at the moment its formula works: integrate technologies that others treat separately to create a systemic competitive advantage.

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Outstanding image | Josh withrs, Zbynek Burival and Solen Feyissa in Unspash