In general China has historically taken any sort of intellectual property rights and outright theft very differently then the rest of the developed world.
China is far ahead of the US in many sectors, notably electric cars and solar panels which are two industries whose progress heavily depend on research and innovation.
> China is far ahead of the US in many sectors, notably electric cars and solar panels which are two industries whose progress heavily depend on research and innovation.
Ahead in production. Did China research/innovate/develop those industries, or were they 'just' fast followers? (Early in its history the US used the same 'tactics' relative to the UK and other European countries.)
It's what I think too, BUT curiously is not the case for China. Imagine if the DeepSeek breakthroughs were patented and closed instead of published in the open. And here we are, and they're not patented and not built on patented technology.