China's Tech Copycats Transformed Into a Hub For Innovation (wired.com)

hackingbear writes: Following similar path of the 19th century America, China has advanced from being copycats to innovators. After its middle class has risen from 4% of population to 2/3 in the last decade, a generation both creative and comfortable with risk-taking are born. "We're seeing people in their early twenties starting companies—people just out of school, and there are even some dropouts," says Kai-Fu Lee, a Chinese venture capitalist and veteran of Apple, Microsoft, and Google, who has spent the past decade crisscrossing the nation, helping youths start firms. Major cities, i.e. Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, are crowded with ambitious inventors and entrepreneurs, flocking into software accelerators and hackerspaces. They no longer want jobs at Google or Apple; like their counterparts in San Francisco, they want to build the next Google or Apple. Venture capitalists pumped a record $15.5 billion into Chinese startups last year, so entrepreneurs are being showered in funding, as well as crucial advice and mentoring from millionaire angels. Even the Chinese government—which has a wary attitude toward online expression and runs a vast digital censorship apparatus—has launched a $6.5 billion fund for startups.

Comments

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Deng Xiaoping: "it doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, if it catches mice it is a good cat"

Re:China makes cheap copy's / rips off other tech

[AmiMoJo]

Chinese goods are already as good as western ones. Look at high end smart phones. You can get a top notch phone, well built, doesn't bend or flex, consumer friendly features like an SD card slot, better software than the crapware loaded devices we make, for about 25-30% the price of western flagships. Meanwhile Apple wants to sell you a three year old phone for silly money.

Western companies find it hard to compete on those terms and focus on creating luxury brands. Japanese manufacturers do a bit better, e.g. Nissan makes some cheap but good cars. Well, so do European car companies, but they suck more than the Chinese ones that are still cheaper.