Sam Roggeveen
Large vehicles with cone-shaped missiles atop them roll through a square. A large crowd of soldiers and a military band standing in neatly organized rows are seen in the distance.China’s Dongfeng-5C intercontinental ballistic missiles pass through Tiananmen Square during the military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3. Sheng Jiapeng/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
It is now widely accepted that the story Western countries once told themselves about China’s technological development—it is a mere imitator of Western technology; it steals intellectual property; its successes result from wasteful public subsidies—is inadequate. This story still has some elements of truth, but it is much less true than it used to be. China is today an innovator and technological leader in robotics, electric vehicles, nuclear reactors, solar energy, drones, high-speed rail, and AI.
If confirmation were needed, the Sept. 3 military parade through Beijing confirms that we must add military technology to this list. It is no longer enough to say that China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is catching up or that it is copying foreign military equipment designs. China is now innovating, and it is leading. In the process, the regional military balance that has for decades favored the United States and its partners is being irrevocably changed.
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