It’s been 10 years since the Chinese government announced Made in China 2025, an ambitious plan to transform China from a “low-cost manufacturing base” to a “high-tech superpower.”
President Xi Jinping’s policies aim to make China a world leader in industries ranging from advanced computing to aerospace, and have been accompanied by huge investments in related technologies such as artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.
Ten years later, analysts told ABC that the plan was a “huge success” despite efforts by the U.S. government to stop it.
Chinese economist Max Zengren said made-in-China was “the cornerstone of China’s industrial policy and ambitions to climb the value chain.”
“And, more importantly, it will strengthen China’s position as the world’s manufacturing powerhouse,” said Dr. Sengren, chief economist at the Mercator China Institute in Berlin.
Electric cars, 5G success
Chinese automaker BYD is one of the world’s largest EV companies. (ABC News: Brant Cumming)
Lindsey Gorman, former President Biden’s emerging technology adviser, echoed similar sentiments, calling Chinese-made products “incredibly” successful.
“An analysis of the People’s Republic of China’s competitiveness across these 10 areas requires recognizing that China is either a world leader or a close follower in almost every field,” Washington said. said Ms. Gorman, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s technology program.
Lindsay Gorman says China’s future plans will build on the success of Made in China 2025. ()Supplied)
She highlighted two examples of its success, including how Huawei has grown to lead the world in advances in 5G and clean energy.
“Even in new energy storage and vehicles, areas identified in Made in China 2025, China has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams and developed electric vehicles that threaten to upend the traditional automotive sector,” she said. told ABC.
Chinese company BYD will surpass Telsa in 2024 to become the world’s largest electric car maker.
But Gorman added that China has not been as successful in some industries, such as civil aviation.
“In other industries, such as biotechnology, the People’s Republic of China has achieved some success and is poised for further growth in the era of big data and genetics applied to medicine,” she said. added.
President Trump calls plan ‘insulting’
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping visit Japan in 2019 after the first US tariffs were imposed. (AP: Susan Walsh, File)
In 2018, Chinese-made products caught the attention of US President Donald Trump, who was in the White House for the first time.
According to a Harvard Business School analysis provided to ABC, some of the initial tariffs the Trump administration imposed on China specifically referenced Chinese-made goods.
A memorandum signed by President Trump in March 2018 states, “The United States will provide 25% of the $50 billion worth of products imported from China containing industrially critical technologies, including those related to the ‘Made in China 2025’ program.” % tariff will be imposed.”
In May of the same year, U.S. media reported that Trump’s trade delegation in Beijing specifically called on China to end subsidies for high-tech industries related to Chinese-made products, such as robots and clean energy vehicles.
Made in China 2025
References to Chinese-made products in Chinese state media and official documents “diminished sharply” from June 2018 in response to U.S. backlash, but China’s industrial ambitions continue, a Harvard University analysis says. said.
Trump later told U.S. media: “China found China ’25 so insulting that they removed it.”
Recently in China, state media has praised the success of programs related to Made in China without directly mentioning the Chinese plans.
Articles and social media posts highlight a number of high-tech advances, including artificial intelligence and sixth-generation fighter jets.
Hegemony of silicon chips
Dr He-Ling Shi, of Monash University, said state media had a “duty of praise” as 2025 is the final year of the plan.
He said it was difficult to know from state media whether the technological advances detailed in the article were real or a “roadshow.”
ABC contacted several analysts in China for this story, but none responded to requests for interviews.
Dr. Shi also said the Biden administration has been effective in blocking China’s advanced manufacturing of computer chips.
He said Huawei is a prime example.
“From a technological perspective, Huawei’s mobile phone technology is still two to three generations behind[Apple’s].”
The threat of new tariffs looms
Workers assemble circuit boards on a production line in China. (Reuters: Bobby Yip)
On his first day in office, Trump promised to impose a 10% tariff on products from China, but he did not mention specific tariffs in his inaugural address as the 47th president of the United States.
Instead, Trump said the United States would collect “huge amounts” of revenue from foreign trade tariffs.
Trump also plans to issue a wide-ranging trade memo directing federal agencies to evaluate the U.S.’s trade relationships with China, Canada and Mexico, although it will stop short of immediate tariffs, Trump administration officials added. .
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng also attended Trump’s inauguration, which was seen as a gesture of goodwill, given that China’s ambassador was the only representative at the past two U.S. presidential inaugurations.
Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump spoke by phone on Friday ahead of the inauguration.
Mr. Trump called the meeting “a very good one,” and Mr. Xi said both sides looked forward to a positive start to U.S.-China relations.
Why China is ready for a new trade war with the US
Relations between the two leaders began on a positive note during Trump’s first presidency, but soured when the trade war began.
William Kirby, a professor at Harvard Business School, said the dynamic is currently shaped by “mutual paranoia” in which each side believes the other is “trying to undermine national security.”
“The U.S.’s unilateral tariff imposition, which has sparked a trade war with China, is not in anyone’s interest,” he said, adding that it was unclear how China would react to the new U.S. tariffs.
Professor Kirby added: “I would expect there to be some greater retaliation.”
Dr. Zengren, of the Mercator China Institute, said Mr. Trump would be dealing with a “very different” and “well-prepared” China.
“I think there is a risk of underestimating how well China has prepared for further conflict and its willingness to retaliate,” he said.
“We cannot fight back with tariffs alone, but we will also attack to inflict and maximize pain.”
Experts said there is no clear or official replacement plan for Chinese-made products, but the Chinese government will announce its 15th five-year plan this year, covering the period 2026 to 2030. It is planned.
ABC/Reuters
