Countries need to look beyond economic changes to opportunities of innovation, partnerships

Former British lawmaker George Galloway recalled seeing metal so thin during a visit to a Chinese steel plant that it could be torn by hand.

For him, it illustrated a transformation deserving closer attention: China is no longer simply supplying the world with T-shirts and toys, but increasingly with advanced technology.

Galloway said China's progress offers lessons for other economies. What some portray as a danger is "the threat of a good example", he said in an interview during his recent visit to Beijing.

China's industrial advances are giving other economies access to more affordable technology, new markets and opportunities to develop their own industries, political figures and scholars told China Daily.

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The term "China shock" is associated with research on job losses and slow adjustment in US communities exposed to rising imports from China. The label "China shock 2.0" is now used in debates over competition from Chinese exports in industries such as electric vehicles and solar energy.

Several of the figures interviewed acknowledged that established industries outside China faced adjustment pressures. But they argued that viewing China's advances primarily as a threat risked overlooking the products, expertise and partnerships that could help other economies become more competitive.

R&D edge

China hosts 25 of the world's top 100 innovation clusters, more than any other economy, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization's 2026 rankings. Value added in high-tech manufacturing rose 13.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Speaking at a dialogue in Beijing in October, former New Zealand prime minister Jenny Shipley linked China's resilience to sustained investment, its strategic focus and the ability to adjust as circumstances changed.

China's development had involved pauses and changes of direction, she said, but long-term planning and disciplined implementation had helped it maintain momentum.

She singled out research and development, saying China had directed funding toward priority areas and encouraged collaborative innovation.

China's R&D spending rose 8.2 percent to about 3.93 trillion yuan ($590 billion) in 2025, equivalent to 2.8 percent of GDP, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Oct 16.

Shipley said earlier infrastructure investment had also helped prepare the ground for artificial intelligence platforms and applications, creating the foundations for new economic activity.

The speed of China's transformation into a high-tech economy — within roughly a generation and a half — had surprised some Europeans, said Slawomir Majman, deputy director of the Institute of Security and International Development in Poland.

"It's a cognitive shock," he told China Daily.

Some European industries had assumed their technological lead would endure and invested too little in research and development, he said. They had failed to prepare adequately for technological change.

China, by contrast, had anticipated such changes and leapfrogged certain stages of development, Majman said, citing payment systems as an example. He described the improvement in the quality of Chinese exports as a "revolution", increasingly recognized by European consumers and businesses.

Perceptions of German and Japanese products have also changed as their quality improved, he noted. Judgments about Chinese manufacturing needed to catch up with what its companies are producing.

Benefits of competition

As Chinese companies become more competitive, other countries face decisions about how to respond. Some experts said investing in innovation, learning from successful technologies and keeping trade open could help those countries strengthen their industries and gain from China's progress.

Former British lawmaker Mark Logan said a "shock" could be understood as "something that pushes you to try and be more innovative and try and do more".

Countries should study what others had achieved and use those lessons to improve their own economies, he told China Daily. Britain's own industrial history, he said, should encourage confidence in competition and a willingness to learn.

"China being successful, I believe, means that the whole world can be successful," he said.

John Ross, a British economist and former director of economic and business policy for the mayor of London, said European countries should examine their own economic decisions rather than attribute their difficulties to China.

"Economic problems in Europe are created in Europe," he told China Daily, pointing to higher costs following the loss of access to cheap Russian gas and the economic costs of conflict.

Continued trade demand with China, including for its renewable-energy products, showed the benefits countries and businesses expected from those ties, he said.

Consumers could also judge products through their own experience. Ross described automaker BYD as "the best ambassador for China", saying its customers could assess the cars for themselves. "They know that's a good car," he said.

Trade allows countries to draw on one another's strengths, Ross added.

The falling cost of solar technology illustrates the gains available to businesses investing in clean energy. In an analysis published on Aug 3, the International Energy Agency said global solar-module prices fell by about 50 percent between 2023 and 2025, lowering equipment costs for solar projects.

China is a major supplier: its solar photovoltaic output increased 13-fold over the past decade, with export markets absorbing around 40 percent of that increase, the agency said.

Galloway acknowledged that China's high-end exports challenged established Western industries. Recalling Britain's former industrial dominance, he questioned why it should be considered shocking that other countries could make products better and cheaper.

He sees a contradiction between professed support for markets and opposition to the outcome when consumers choose Chinese goods. Those who declare "the customer is king" change their position when another country's products succeed. "Then they suddenly become protectionists," he said.

Shipley also questioned tariff protection. Drawing on her experience in government, she said such measures can disrupt markets and supply chains and did not work over the medium term.

Wider development

For developing countries, the opportunities range from buying affordable products to acquiring skills and building industries, the experts said. They pointed to technology sharing, vocational training and a wider choice of partners as ways China's industrial progress could support other countries' development.

Former Ethiopian president Mulatu Teshome has watched that progress since arriving in China as a student in the 1970s, when the economy depended much more heavily on agriculture and light industry.

Chinese companies that once competed largely on low costs now offer higher-quality products and more advanced technology, he told China Daily.

Electric vehicles are a challenge to industries built around internal combustion engines, he acknowledged. But Chinese high-tech products also represent "a very good opportunity" for developing economies and European countries, he said.

China's experience showed that industrialization could follow paths suited to each country's circumstances, Mulatu said. Cooperation based on mutual respect and equality supported that freedom of choice, he argued, contrasting it with conditions attached to some international financial assistance.

He identified electric vehicles, clean energy, robotics and the digital economy as areas for cooperation. Wider market access and tariff-free treatment could also open trade channels for developing countries, he said.

Satomi Alhaji Ahmad, a member of Nigeria's House of Representatives, said: "We have never seen China as a threat. We see China as a friend."

He emphasized the benefits affordable Chinese products provided to ordinary consumers. A Chinese-made watch costing 100 yuan could meet the same basic need as a far more expensive one, he said.

He also pointed to knowledge sharing, vocational training, agricultural technology and rail infrastructure as forms of cooperation African countries could draw on to strengthen their own capabilities. "China is showing you how to catch the fish," he said.

Glenn Diesen, a professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway, said the emergence of several technological powers could give smaller and medium-sized economies more choices.

Competition among suppliers could help them diversify technology sources, obtain expertise and seek technology transfers, while stronger cooperation among developing countries could expand those opportunities, he said.

Learning from China does not mean reproducing its model wholesale, he cautioned. Its scale, extensive supply chains and industrial capabilities are distinctive advantages. Other countries need approaches suited to their own circumstances, including greater autonomy in strategic industries and more diversified trade.

Deepening cooperation

China's demand for goods and services also gives overseas producers a stake in its development. Australia's exports of goods and services to China totaled about $126.4 billion in 2025, accounting for 29 percent of its worldwide exports, according to data from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Australian military analyst and independent journalist Matt Williams pointed to Australian beef and wine as examples of the opportunities created by the two economies' complementary strengths.

Those ties extended beyond resources to food and other consumer products, he said. Both countries also had sovereign and security interests to consider, and sustained dialogue helped them manage differences while maintaining economic ties.

China's goods imports rose 22.3 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2026, according to customs data.

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Vice-Minister of Commerce Yan Dong said in October that the ministry had held nearly 100 "Export to China" events over the past year to help overseas suppliers connect with Chinese buyers.

Investment flowing out of China offers another route for cooperation. In Poland, Majman said Chinese parts and components were already contributing to manufacturing, but efforts to attract Chinese investment in advanced industries had yielded only modest results. "We need Chinese investments," he said.

Majman said the next stage of cooperation would involve more than trade in goods. Joint work on digital systems and green technologies could give Polish companies a role in developing new products and capabilities.

China's outward direct investment rose 11.1 percent to $213.6 billion in 2025, according to data released in September by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The data also showed that Chinese-invested enterprises overseas had 2.97 million foreign employees at the end of 2025, and that outward investment was expanding into green and low-carbon industries and the digital economy.

Diesen pointed to joint ventures as a way for countries to participate in China's technological advances while addressing concerns about dependence. "We can still manage the competition in a friendly way," he said.

Contact the writers at zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn