China has surged ahead as the world’s premier industrial power. Constantly, there is news coming out of China that highlights its ongoing technological breakthroughs and innovation.

China is a country that only several decades ago was still mired in backwardness and lacked development, and now it is engaged in a rivalry with the U.S. for the top spot in economic power and industrial productive forces. It is true that American foreign policy and power projection still remain at the top in terms of influence, but this influence is crumbling.

The rivalry between the two is the basis for the current geopolitical landscape, and the lines have been drawn firmly. I think it is important to look at the rise of the Chinese economy and why it has been so effective in rapid development and growth.

The global economy is clearly characterised by stagnation, and in contrast to that fact, China’s own GDP growth has hovered around five to six percent, a substantial expansion in absolute terms for an economy that is three times the size of Japan’s, which was once heralded as the Asian economic miracle. I think what is even more telling is that the United States is stuck at a growth rate of two to three percent, and the EU is completely stagnant at just 0.1 percent, highlighting its industrial decline.

It is then no surprise that China’s manufacturing base accounts for 30 percent of the world’s manufacturing output, which is actually more than the U.S., Germany, Japan, and South Korea combined. It is also clear that this trend is predicted to continue with no signs of stopping. Therefore, I think it is proper to describe China’s industrial base as vibrant and dynamic, especially when looking at innovation and progress.

Just by observing what China produces is a telling sign of its development. China is no longer merely a base for low-quality goods such as clothing, toys, and daily wares, but rather a producer of some of the world’s most advanced products and technologies. Since the year 2020, China has been the clear leader in global production of computers and electronics, chemicals, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, basic metals, fabricated metals, and electrical equipment. By analysing the electric vehicle global market, which I have written about and researched extensively, China is the clear leader and has a complete economic advantage.

China has also become an absolute juggernaut in research and innovation, clearly highlighted by its rapid electrification and implementation of innovative technologies. The nation dominates the field of robotics, both in patents filed and in the number of robots installed, with more than the rest of the world combined. Dark factories, which are nearly fully roboticised facilities that employ so few workers that no lights are required, exist across many fields of manufacturing and industry.

While most of these innovations are applied to consumer goods industries, their application in other fields such as the military is, of course, advancing at a rapid rate. Therefore, I think it is appropriate to say that China has cultivated both an industrial and economic base of resilience, achieved through innovation and the development of secure supply chains. It is clear that China is developing on an enormous scale that directly challenges the U.S. and its traditional spheres of influence. It will be interesting to see, as the world attempts to recover and find stability, whether China will be able to overtake the U.S. for the number one position.