E-commerce innovation at the center of an economic and geopolitical challenge: Amazon vs. Alibaba

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According to him, the combination of these factors stimulates the type of "creative destruction" which 
generates rapid economic development. 
East Asia has been the cradle of this kind of development for the past fifty years. During the post-war 
years, Japan became prosperous by targeting its investments in education and new technologies, and 
its model was followed by the "Asian tigers".
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 Starting with the manufacturing of basic products, 
these countries have skillfully turned towards more value-added sectors as they develop. 
China was inspired by this example. The rapid development of the country since Deng Xiaoping's 
“Reform and opening '' period, in the 1980s, depended on the use of the large Chinese labor force to 
manufacture products intended for export to the world market, first in low-wage sectors like textiles, 
then in more complex and creative fields. 
The Chinese government wants to capitalize on this progress. Despite its incredible rise in the past 
thirty years, China still lags behind the United States and Western European countries in the 
manufacturing of high-end products. This is the motivation of the '' Made in China 2025 '' plan, 
officially launched in 2015. Modeled on German '' Industry 4.0 '', this initiative aims to revive 
technological innovation in the sector via targeted public investments. As it grows, China may find 
itself trapped in the middle of the value chain, between countries that offer low-cost outsourced labor 
and nations with better manufacturing quality. China invests heavily in factories and assembly sites 
through robotic automation, which tends to improve the quality of production. The government is 
particularly concerned with building a national semiconductor industry to reduce dependence on the 
import of computer chips and has allocated billions of US dollars in public and private funds for these 
purposes.  
Another priority is aeronautics, where the government encourages companies to cooperate with 
foreign players to develop their expertise. French multinational Airbus agreed to increase assembly 
operations at a facility in the eastern city of Tianjin, which it runs as a joint venture with Aviation 
Industry Corporation of China (AICC), owned by the State. Airbus will benefit from increased access 
to what is now the largest commercial aircraft market in the world, while AICC will gain knowledge 
of engine design and engineering methods. 
 
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 “The Four Asian Tigers are the high-growth economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Fueled by 
exports and rapid industrialization, the Four Asian Tigers have consistently maintained high levels of economic growth 
since the 1960s, and have collectively joined the ranks of the world's wealthiest nations. Hong Kong and Singapore are 
among the most prominent worldwide financial centers, while South Korea and Taiwan are essential hubs for the global 
manufacturing of automobile and electronic components, as well as information technology”. Source: investopedia.com