https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/21/china_us_chip_tech_gap_report/
Think tank warns US and friends they can't assume Beijing won't catch up
The report cites one unnamed commentator who believes China could be five generations behind in this field.
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The full quote makes this clearer:
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment – such as the lithography tools that make the chips – is another field in which China significantly lags. The report cites one unnamed commentator who believes China could be five generations behind in this field.
Ezell warned that does not mean the US and allies can "rest on their laurels," else "they risk seeing a significant diminution of their industries."
The US does nothing to ward against rampant foreign propaganda and the wholesale evisceration of our industrial infrastructure, demonizes our educational institutions and cuts research grants down to a miniscule fraction across all disciplines, caters to anti-intellectual religions, does nothing to curtail the constant sale of industrial secrets and now suddenly we notice we're slipping inevitably from our technological advantage. Bizzare how that happens.
All true but hardly unique to the US. China is not exactly a proponent of academic freedom and intellectual curiosity.
I am not familiar with China's academic climate, but I find it difficult to imagine it's worse than situation here.
But even if it was, they produce twice as many PhDs; it would have to be really, really bad to be less effective overall.
Research papers aren't a per-capita thing, whether they have 4x as many people or 400x as many people, scientific advancement is scientific advancement.
Who exactly thought China wouldn't catch up?
They invested in creating a highly-educated workforce, brought in foreign specialists to fill in the gaps, and built the prerequisite supply chains, and chip companies. That's how you get chips.
Was it racism? Ideological blinders on people who thought technological development comes from free markets, instead of workers?