A Chinese earthquake rescue team deployed drones to light up the night and aid search and rescue operations after the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar.

[u/Red_Lotus_Alchemist]

[u/jrm70210]

My cousin, a US Marine, just came back from vacation in China and told me that they're "100 years ahead of us."

This is what happens when you reinforce intelligence over ignorance.

[u/Fitz911 → u/jrm70210]

And now think about that they were a hundred years behind just a few decades ago.

[u/iRonin → u/Fitz911]

The reality is that China has spent only a very very small portion of its history being anything less than one of (if not THE) most advanced nations on the planet.

Take a look at Admiral Zheng He’s flagship vs Christopher Columbus’ “Santa Maria”, both from around the same period. The key difference was culture- unlike Western colonial and imperial tendencies, the Chinese eschewed projecting power internationally. The Dragon Throne was the Dragon Throne. Nations could submit tribute to be recognized but were never colonized and rarely traded with. In fact merchants that left China were provided no protections from the empire, for what need did China have of foreign goods? They were (they believed) inferior.

This was a major driving factor in the Opium Wars. Britain wanted to trade for tea, but China wanted nothing from Britain, so the Brits began importing opium (to the ports in the South, the only place they were granted access, far away from the Throne).

[u/classygorilla → u/iRonin]

I agree but also disagree. I think China's economy is extremely interesting, as it is an open and free economy while the government is a closed dictatorship.

They were very much behind for many years in recent history thanks to Mao. When I lived there (90s-00s) they had a huge poverty problem. Only people in cities had power, water, toilet, phone, as well as very low literacy rates.

Honestly the only reason they are considered advanced right now is because of countries like US, Germany, UK - which brought manufacturing there as it is cheap, they had infrastructure to support, and they were very eager to trade and do business.

Now of course the Chinese know how to make things, they know how to run the plants, they have the materials, they have the industrial infrastructure built up. They are in a very good position but still heavily rely on a lower class to do this work.

I will say finally that when I was there I always felt safe, this is something they do well. They will also not hesitate to use corporal punishment if you do not abide.

[u/Kloubek → u/Fitz911]

The power of industrial espionage.

[u/Cutensleepy → u/Kloubek]

Yes because a billion people who all hyperfixate on education could never match the US without stealing /s

[u/Ihatememorising → u/Cutensleepy]

People forget that America was bootlegging every UK brand under the sun after independence. The Germans, Koreans and Japanese were doing the same thing after ww2 too, early anime were basically bootleg Disney.

Go to any developing country and we will still see a ton of bootlegs of successful franchises.

Even then you still need to be smart af to replicate or reverse engineer shit.

US need to prioritise education and stop lowering standards for any reason.

[u/Kloubek → u/Cutensleepy]

Chinese "investors" were caught in my country stealing when they were discusing invesment..

[u/Cutensleepy → u/Kloubek]

Oh I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but like this rhetoric that the west somehow has some magic that China doesn't is why we're losing the race.

[u/Kloubek → u/Cutensleepy]

OH no i am not saying west have some magic i am saying when u dont have spend money on development and Just steal the technology u can ask for less money for a products that helps to catch up.

[u/Konsticraft → u/Kloubek]

Now imagine how far we could be, if we collaborated instead of only competing in the name of profit.

[u/Napoleons_Peen → u/Konsticraft]

No competition at this point. The US is more concerned with stealing as much as it can from its own people.