How did China transform from a poor country into the world's second largest economy?

[Mangus Ortus Novem]

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China transformed and will continue to transform because of the Confusian Ethics and the Chinese Characteristics!

No other secret formula.


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[Martian2]

I have been disappointed at the ignorance that forum members have shown in this thread.

The obvious catalyst for China's modernization was Taiwan.

It was not your ridiculous speculations.

The United States never helped China's modernization. To the contrary, the United States prohibited the sale of any US part for satellites to China. This meant no satellite could have a single US part. Otherwise, you would have violated the US governments prohibition. This was designed to strangle China's attempts to build and launch satellites for other countries.

The United States also has severe restrictions on the export of CNC machine tools. This is intended to hamper China's manufacturing capability.

The United States has sanctions on laser-ring gyros to China. The United States has freely exported laser-ring gyros to India. However, it is illegal to export American laser-ring gyros to China without an explicit license from the US government.

When you look at thirty years of US technological sanctions on China, it is clear that the United States government would never allow any US company to assist in China's modernization.
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Next, we have the ridiculous suggestion that South Korea and Japan helped China modernize. This is fundamentally stupid.

South Korea and Japan are barren nations without natural resources. The only way for South Korea and Japan to survive is to export. Without a trade surplus, South Korea and Japan cannot import coal and oil to heat their homes.

The idea that South Korea or Japan would help China industrialize is absurd. South Korean and Japanese economic survival depends on keeping China backwards. Otherwise, if China dominates industry after industry then South Korea and Japan will starve.

Due to the basic imperative of economic survival, South Korea and Japan are the last countries on Earth to help China modernize.
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Finally, we have the ridiculous claim that Hong Kong was responsible for China's modernization. Hong Kong has zero technological companies. I can't name a single Hong Kong tech company.

On the other hand, I can name numerous Taiwanese tech companies.

TSMC: 16nm logic-chip manufacturer
MediaTek: 3G and 4G chip designer
Andes Technology: CPU designer
Quanta and Compal: world's largest notebook computer designers and manufacturers
Victor Machine Tool: Taiwan's largest CNC machine tool manufacturer
Realtek: Analog chip designer
Novatek: world's tenth largest fabless IC company
AU Optronics: LCD display manufacturer
Nanya: DRAM manufacturer
Delta Electronics: world's largest provider of switching power supplies
Asus: world's fourth-largest personal computer vendor
Acer: world's sixth-largest personal computer vendor
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE): "The ASE Group is the world's largest provider of independent semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly and test."
Formosa Chemicals: specialty chemical manufacturer
Largan: "major supplier of camera lens modules for smartphones, tablet computers, and digital cameras"

Taiwan has endless billion-dollar tech companies. Hong Kong has virtually none.

It defies common sense to claim that Hong Kong industrialized China. Hong Kong can't even industrialize itself. Hong Kong has no technology.

Taiwan has a mountain of technology. It should be obvious that Taiwan provided the technology to upgrade China into a modern industrial power. The nickname for Taiwan is "Silicon Island." It was Silicon Island's technologies and wealth that industrialized China in 40 years.

Here is a partial list of Taiwan's tech companies.

Hon Hai - $127 billion in sales
Pegatron - $32.2 billion
Formosa Petrochemical - $31.4 billion
Quanta Computer - $29.7 billion
TSMC - $25 billion
Compal Electronics - $23.1 billion
Wistron - $22 billion
Asustek Computer - $15.5 billion
Inventec - $14.9 billion
Formosa Chemicals - $14.5 billion
Innolux - $14.2 billion
AU Optronics - $14 billion
Acer - $12.1 billion
Lite-On Group - $10.93-12.5 billion
Synnex Technology International Corp. - $10.36 billion
Nan Ya Plastics - $10.2 billion
Chungwha Telecom - $7.7 billion
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) - $7.4 billion
Formosa Plastics - $7.3 billion
MediaTek - $7.2 billion
HTC - $6.75 billion
Delta Electronics - $5.8 billion
Chi Mei Corporation - $5.61 billion
TPK Holding Co., Ltd. - $4.97 billion
UMC - $4.3 billion
Tatung Co. Ltd. - $3.779 billion
Qisda Corp. - $3.73 billion
Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co. Ltd. - $3.32 billion
Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd. (SPIL) - $2.67 billion
Micro-Star International (MSI) - $2.465 billion
Zhen Ding Technology - $2.14 billion
Inotera Memories - $2 billion
Elitegroup Computer Systems Co. (ECS) - $1.98 billion
Unimicron - $1.87 billion
Gigabyte Technology - $1.7 billion
HannStar Board Corp. - $1.52 billion
Largan Precision - $1.4 billion
Nanya Technology Corporation - $1.4 billion
Powerchip - $1.33 billion
Novatek - $1.32 billion
MiTAC - $1.26 billion
Winbond Electronics Corp. - $1.19 billion
Advantech - $1.12 billion
Everlight - $1.1 billion
A-Data Technology Co Ltd. - $1.05 billion
D-Link - $0.96 billion
Realtek - $0.95 billion
Epistar - $0.94 billion
Himax Technologies - $0.84 billion
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation (VIS) - $0.78 billion

 

[TaiShang]

This does not apply to Taiwan, because Taiwanese see themselves as ethnically Chinese. Transferring technology to other ethnic Chinese is logical.

This is the key point, indeed, beyond all economic considerations and strategies, which some of our compatriots (as well as a ill-intended false flagger) seem to not understand.

The foundation of this transformation was laid in Mao era through land reforms, social revolution, universal education, industrialization, and most importantly, one-party political system.

Deng was standing on the shoulder of a giant, and his reform was based on the material and political dividends of pre-reform era.

The early investments from Overseas Chinese and Japanese after 1978 were the catalyst that expedited the development.

China is an unique case of social development that can't be copied by or transplanted to any country in foreseeable future.

Very well said. Underlying Taiwan factor would not rule out the enormous contributions that the people that actually lived and have been living on the Mainland China have done so far, including founding fathers, technocrats, farmers, students, teachers, engineers, and people from every walk of life.

This is never to belittle or undermine their contribution.

I also do not like the overemphasis on Deng Xiaoping and skipping over what Chairman Mao did for the nation when he led the set up of the industrial backbone of the country and initiated the most urgent reforms -- that had helped Japan to transform itself much earlier. It is not an easy task to build a nation.

The country he had overtaken was definitely a more challenging task than the one Deng did.

In my opinion, everybody have one their best, in most cases, and China Dream is thanks to all and belongs to all. Just please do not brush aside what Taiwan has done for the cause of China's rejuvenation, albeit all political bickering and, rightfully said, some actions that are amount to treason, like certain policies of the DPP.

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

No, I am exactly right. There is a long list of Taiwanese technological transfers to China.

The South Koreans and Japanese would never help China industrialize.

South Korea's Samsung manufactures simplistic memory chips on mainland China. It does not manufacture advanced logic chips. Only Taiwan's TSMC does that.

Fifteen years ago, China offered free land and electricity to Toyota for a car manufacturing plant. Toyota said no.

The South Koreans and Japanese only bring in technology to China after Taiwan has introduced it. There is no gain to China when Taiwanese technology is already present. South Korea and Japan would never help their competitor China to advance technologically. It would be suicidal economically for South Korea and Japan. China has enormous scale. If South Korea or Japan helped China technologically, they would drive themselves out of business.

The claim that South Korea and Japan helped China industrialize is inherently stupid. Koreans and Japanese are very tight-fisted with their technological know-how. Both South Korea and Japan are tiny countries and their survival depends on having a technological advantage. This does not apply to Taiwan, because Taiwanese see themselves as ethnically Chinese. Transferring technology to other ethnic Chinese is logical.

South Korea and Japan have to listen to the United States. The United States would never allow South Korea and Japan to help China advance technologically. Many of the South Korean and Japanese technologies are licensed from the United States and cannot be transferred into China without an explicit export license from the United States government.

In contrast, Taiwan transfers whatever it feels like. The technology belongs to Taiwan. Taiwan innovated all of the improvements to notebook computers and has a dominant 90% worldwide market share.

One million to two million Taiwanese are still working on mainland China today. The army of Taiwanese experts and engineers were the bedrock of China's industrialization.

The number of South Koreans and Japanese in China is trivial.

Taiwan brought a mountain of technology into China. None of it was South Korean or Japanese.

Taiwan's long list of technological transfers to China: Digital camera manufacture, notebook computers, machine tools, solar panels, LCD displays, LEDs, specialty chemicals, 3G and 4G broadband cellular network technology, logic-chip technology, and plenty others (such as Taiwan's Andes Technology CPU design).

It's all Taiwan.

yeah taiwan is powerful,CHINA is no.good keep dreaming my friend~

 

[Martian2]

In 2016, US companies owned 53% of world fabless integrated-circuit (IC) sales.
Taiwan was in second place with 18% of worldwide fabless IC sales.
China was in third place with 10% of worldwide fabless IC sales.

European and Japanese companies each had less than 1% of worldwide fabless IC sales.

Where did China gain the expertise to become world #3 in fabless IC sales?

The United States most definitely did not provide its competitor China with the technology. The US views China as its number one competitor and China's attempts to purchase American technology will never gain the approval of CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States).

The only other source of expertise in fabless IC technology is Taiwan.

Thus, China was able to become the world's third-largest fabless IC seller because of expertise transferred from Taiwanese companies or engineers to mainland counterparts.

The United States cannot stop Taiwan from transferring advanced integrated-circuit design technology to China, because many of those Taiwanese experts are already living on mainland China.

U.S. Companies Still Hold Largest Share of Fabless Company IC Sales | IC Insights

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

No. The West never helped China.

After 1989's Tiananmen Square, the US imposed sanctions on China.

For years after 1989, the only people investing in China were Taiwanese. Only the Taiwanese were willing to transfer technology to China, because Taiwanese are ethnically Chinese.

Everybody else wanted to wait until Taiwan transferred the technology then they were willing to bring in equivalent technology. Taiwan always moved first. Then the South Koreans matched Taiwan's technological level. Afterwards, the Europeans. Usually dead last were the Americans.

Taiwan will be first next year in China with 16nm semiconductor logic-chip manufacturing technology. Taiwan is still first. Other countries will follow, but Taiwan is the first to bring advanced technology into China and train mainland Chinese engineers.

Taiwan has been keeping China at the forefront of technology for decades. It is still happening today in logic-chip semiconductor technology, DRAM memory chip manufacture, and 4G broadband cellular network technology (Taiwan's MediaTek has the technology and China's Spreadtrum doesn't). Advanced technology flows from Taiwan to mainland China.

LOL,taiwan province....thank you!

This is the key point, indeed, beyond all economic considerations and strategies, which some of our compatriots (as well as a ill-intended false flagger) seem to not understand.



Very well said. Underlying Taiwan factor would not rule out the enormous contributions that the people that actually lived and have been living on the Mainland China have done so far, including founding fathers, technocrats, farmers, students, teachers, engineers, and people from every walk of life.

This is never to belittle or undermine their contribution.

I also do not like the overemphasis on Deng Xiaoping and skipping over what Chairman Mao did for the nation when he led the set up of the industrial backbone of the country and initiated the most urgent reforms -- that had helped Japan to transform itself much earlier. It is not an easy task to build a nation.

The country he had overtaken was definitely a more challenging task than the one Deng did.

In my opinion, everybody have one their best, in most cases, and China Dream is thanks to all and belongs to all. Just please do not brush aside what Taiwan has done for the cause of China's rejuvenation, albeit all political bickering and, rightfully said, some actions that are amount to treason, like certain policies of the DPP.

the truth is taiwan never thought CHINA could have this tremendous evolution and their only purpose was and is making money nothing more and they are indeed surprised by CHINA potential and in order to less losing face they invented this so called helping CHINA story. .......

No. Hong Kong has no technology. Those were Taiwanese shell companies. The technology came from Taiwan.

Cumulative USPTO patents from 1977-2014.

Taiwan: 150,000
China: 36,000
Hong Kong: 13,000
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To sell an expensive electronic or semiconductor product in a developed country, you need patents to avoid being sued. Taiwan has 150,000 cumulative USPTO patents. Taiwan invented most of the improvements to the notebook computer and it owns 90% of the worldwide market. Similar story in digital cameras, LCD displays (where South Korea's LG lost an American federal lawsuit for violating four critical Taiwanese AUO patents), etc.

China (36,000 USPTO patents) has relatively little cumulative USPTO patents. China is walking in Taiwan's footsteps and relying on Taiwanese patents to export to the world.

Taiwan remains the world's third-largest cumulative foreign holder at 150,121 USPTO patents

For 2014, Taiwan remained the world's third-largest cumulative foreign holder of 150,121 USPTO (ie. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) patents during the last 38 years. Essentially, Taiwan is out-innovating every other country on the planet except for the United States, Japan, and Germany. This would explain Taiwan's ever-increasing standards of living and foreign exchange reserves.

Patent Counts By Country, State, and Year - All Patent Types (December 2014)

A. Taiwan's cumulative USPTO patents are clearly massive in terms of quantity. However, we have to examine the quality of the Taiwanese patents. This can be done indirectly and easily by mentioning ten large leading Taiwanese companies in diverse industries.

1. TSMC (or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) is the world leader in the foundry business with 50% worldwide market share. TSMC logic chip technology is currently being mass produced at a leading-edge 20nm.

2. Mediatek is a leading multi-billion dollar designer of systems-on-chip (SOC) for smartphones and tablets.

3. Quanta and Compal produce 80-90% of the world's notebook computers with Taiwanese patents.

4. AU Optronics is a leading LCD manufacturer. AU Optronics won a monstrous patent lawsuit against South Korea's LG where a U.S. Federal District Court ruled that LG infringed on four key AU Optronics patents.

5. Epistar is a leading LED manufacturer with 1,000 LED patents.

6. Formosa Plastics is a leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals.

7. Taiwan is the world's fourth-largest machine tool exporter and has built a sub-micron CNC machine tool.

8. "Delta Electronics, Inc. (Chinese: 台達電子工業股份有限公司), founded in 1971, is the world's largest provider of switching power supplies and DC brushless fans,[1] as well as a major source for power management solutions, components, visual displays, industrial automation, networking products, and renewable energy solutions. Delta Group has sales offices worldwide and manufacturing plants in Taiwan, China, Thailand, Mexico, India and Europe."

9. "In Taiwan, which has the second-largest chip-design industry after the U.S., Novatek is a standout. Chairman Ho Tai-shung has turned it from a little spinoff of United Microelectronics (the Taiwanese chipmaker that is the world's second-largest foundry, behind only neighbor and rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing) into a chip-design powerhouse. Novatek, based in Taiwan's premier high-tech zone, the Hsinchu science park, is the island's dominant provider of TFT-LCD driver and controller chips, key components in the liquid crystal displays used in PC monitors and TV screens." (from BusinessWeek)

10. "Largan is the world’s biggest designer and manufacturer of imaging lens products used in mobile devices." (from Bloomberg News)

B. 60% of mainland Chinese high-tech exports are being conducted by Taiwanese companies. This means mainland China still relies on Taiwanese patents to expand its economy. With over 70,000 Taiwanese companies and one million Taiwanese residents, it is business as usual on mainland China.

C. Mainland China produces over half the number of Taiwanese USPTO patents on an annual basis. With $4 trillion dollars in foreign exchange reserves and its own USPTO patents, China's continued industrialization is unstoppable. It's nice to have Taiwanese companies, but they are no longer indispensable.

China has its own long list of corporate titans: Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE, PetroChina, Xiaomi, Alibaba, Baidu, SMIC, Haier, SAIC Motor, etc.

D. Since Taiwan has a small population of 23 million people, it proves that any country with over 20 million in population has the ability to industrialize based on its own innovation and USPTO patents.

E. However, Taiwan is a rare success story. Theoretically speaking, economics is not a zero-sum game. Thus, a developing country's economy should take off with currently undiscovered inventions. Practically speaking, it is difficult to identify a new economic sector that could produce billions of dollars in profits.

In conclusion, the story of Taiwan serves as an interesting model for developing countries. Taiwan proved that you can bootstrap your own economy into becoming a developed country. Hence, it is interesting to keep monitoring the USPTO patents every year to see if there is a breakout country on the cusp of joining the industrialized world.

HUAWEI is the lawmaker of 5G communication are we gonna still argue with this!?

 

[TaiShang]

LOL,taiwan province....thank you!

That's we are all agreed on and it is not even something worthy to attempt to just make @Martian2 or me angry or irritated, I think. That's something to be proud of. To be part of such grand idea as China.

Underlying the mutual help and assistance will only strengthen the idea of China with Taiwan as its rightful province, along with other units such as Hong Kong and Macao.

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

That's we are all agreed on and it is not even something worthy to attempt to just make @Martian2 or me angry or irritated, I think. That's something to be proud of. To be part of such grand idea as China.

Underlying the mutual help and assistance will only strengthen the idea of China with Taiwan as its rightful province, along with other units such as Hong Kong and Macao.

mutual help?TAIWAN does not.allow high tech taiwan company to.establish a pioneer line unless it is.at least one.generation behind.the one in.taiwan province and this is so called help?
plus,mainland students can not apply for jobs, can not get medical assurance and can.not stay at taiwan.....
ur leaders keeping saying keep the status quo while changing education documents, deny absolutely sub connection with mainland CHINA. .....

those taiwanese of Taiwan province who are supportting taiwan independence are our enemy THANKS for ur time.

 

[Speeder 2]

China industrialised so fast is due to internal and external factors.

Internally:

1. quite consistent central govt policy that, though sometimes cruel, has prioritised growth über alles & full sprectrum-growth in almost all sectors that has been both efficient and market-oriented die-hard capitalism, backed by the art of an intellectually very competent layers of bureaucratic system that China invent, and have been perfecting through 1000s of years.

2. world-leading high IQ population with equally high level of work ethics, disciplines, dynamics, sacrifice and optimistism .

3. a group of home-grown elite high tech companies (not only civilian tech, but also military tech, both govt-owned and private-owned) in numerous key industries.

Externally:

1. (agreed with Martian here) mainly Taiwan-led overseas Chinese high tech knowhow transfer, many of them being cutting-edge, noticeablely in, but not limited to, semicon/comsumer-electronics and industrial machine tool sectors, which are among the key drivers for fast industrialisation.

2. high degree of tech knowhow transfer (mainly mid-tech due to Western tech embargo& trade secret protectionism) from Western multinationals through FDI, that helped China to have forged world's largest specialised pools of high IQ, skilled, and flexible industrial labours across the board - so called "World's Factory".

The story didn't stop there. It was China's concerted long-term policy and Chinese people's high IQ and dedication that enable China to quickly digest and improve aforementioned tech knowhow transfer. This helps China's main competitive advantage to have gradually shifted from "relatively low labour cost" to "absolute value chain superiority" - so called "World's Factory , World's R&D Lab, & World's Market".

3. HK's special historic role as both a financial centre and a foreign investment conduit greatly facilitated that transfer.

4. apart from high IQ skilled labour force, vast capital injection (through FDI & extremely high domestic saving rate re-investment), and widespread tech knowhow (both transferred and skyrocketed home-grown patents), historically low average energy prices also greatly assisted China's fast industrialisation.

"The China story" is unique in history, and can not be directly copied.

 

[TaiShang]

mutual help?TAIWAN does not.allow high tech taiwan company to.establish a pioneer line unless it is.at least one.generation behind.the one in.taiwan province and this is so called help?
plus,mainland students can not apply for jobs, can not get medical assurance and can.not stay at taiwan.....
ur leaders keeping saying keep the status quo while changing education documents, deny absolutely sub connection with mainland CHINA. .....

those taiwanese of Taiwan province who are supportting taiwan independence are our enemy THANKS for ur time.

You are deflecting the debate, Indian style. And you, if a genuine person, are hell of a pessimist.

This thread has a clear subject matter. You are bringing up historical issues (I am extremely well-versed about) regarding cross-Straits interactions. The question is how historically Taiwan has assisted Mainland China (not the only actor, but a significant actor) to develop economically and you are talking about how things went so bad under current separatist government.

The two are unrelated. Proving your point does not disprove the argument made here.

Are you sure you are really who you claim to be? I do not anticipate such low logical/intellectual standards... That's all.

You sound, at least, weird.

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

You are deflecting the debate, Indian style. And you, if a genuine person, are hell of a pessimist.

This thread has a clear subject matter. You are bringing up historical issues (I am extremely well-versed about) regarding cross-Straits interactions. The question is how historically Taiwan has assisted Mainland China (not the only actor, but a significant actor) to develop economically and you are talking about how things went so bad under current separatist government.

The two are unrelated. Proving your point does not disprove the argument made here.

Are you sure you are really who you claim to be? I do not anticipate such low logical/intellectual standards... That's all.

You sound, at least, weird.

the topic is how CHINA evolved,not.how.taiwan helped?plus it was help.or.just a way to make money for taiwan!?!

IF u r making money this.is not.help this is.business and CHINA is.losing money and is doing construction even with no.charge for a lot of countries,that is more likely help......

the topic is how CHINA evolved,not.how.taiwan helped?plus it was help.or.just a way to make money for taiwan!?!

IF u r making money this.is not.help this is.business and CHINA is.losing money and is doing construction even with no.charge for a lot of countries,that is more likely help......

in ur way, tJapanese occupation in taiwan and killing taiwanese was.actually helping solve taiwan overpopulation issues.....
they killed a lot of taiwanese in taiwan don't they?
you should be grateful to jap occupation and.luck ur grandpa survived!

 

[TaiShang]

the topics is how CHINA evolved,not.how.taiwan helped?plus it was help.or.just making money for taiwan!?!

The topic is how China has become an economic powerhouse. The issue Martian brought up is directly related to it. He argued that, one of the independent variables of China's development is the investment from Taiwan.

Why got so worked up on this?

There was definitely economic considerations, as you say. Hell, even marriage is a sort of interest-based contract between two parties.

But, Taiwan invested in Mainland China (Martian talks in historical sense, thus, brings up the sanctions placed from 1989) when no others did (either out of enmity or fear). Therefore, Taiwan's investment in key technologies (of that time) was very critical and can be considered an important aspect of China's development into today's status.

It is not the only factor. It is a significant factor.

And the help has been mutual. Taiwan has earned billions of dollars because Beijing tolerates imports and trade deficit. We know it. We talk about it in our classes.

losing money or doing construction freely for a lot of countries,that is more likely help

Besides, we are using the word help loosely. You should not take it as if it were an insult. Relatives help each other and that's natural. As I said, it is a mutual help. We are helping each other.

It should not be so difficult to recognize the contributions Taiwan has made to the cause of Greater China's development to today's position.

And the story has just begun.

in ur way, tJapanese occupation in taiwan and killing taiwanese was.actually helping solve taiwan overpopulation issues.....

Japan's invasion of Taiwan and Taiwan's investment in Mainland are two different issues. And, no, I do not think it was a help in any way, although some small group of Japanese lovers in Taiwan may argue about that.

they killed a lot of taiwanese in taiwan don't they?
you should be grateful to jap occupation and.luck ur grandpa survived!

They killed. If you happen to visit Taiwan, you can still see the remnants of the bunkers that used to engage in guerrilla war against the Japanese during the occupation.

 

[Martian2]

Here is the irony after 40 years of Chinese modernization.

Today, China holds all of the high-technology that Taiwan possesses.

There are now two sources of high-technology. It no longer has to be a tech transfer from Taiwan. China has absorbed all of the Taiwanese technologies.

No country will ever receive a meaningful technological transfer from barren South Korea or Japan.

Taiwan has proven over the last 40 years that it will only transfer technology to China.

The United States has numerous restrictions on tech transfer. CFIUS is only part of the US control mechanism. Other aspects include US EULA (end user licensing agreement). The US is very different from Taiwan/China. The sale of an American technological item is really only a lease. The EULA controls how and where the American technology can be used. Typically, transfer of American technological equipment (such as a supercomputer) to a third party requires US government approval.

To date, I have not seen China express any willingness to meaningfully transfer its high-technology to another country.

Thus, the Taiwan Economic Miracle was the original progenitor. Massive amounts of Taiwanese technology migrated to mainland China from 1978-2017. I have seen no evidence of further migration of Taiwanese or Chinese high technology. Thus, no other country in the world has meaningfully industrialized in the last 40 years.

There must be a source for advanced high-technology. Otherwise, it will take decades to slowly replicate the technology. For example, today's India does not have a commercial semiconductor fabrication plant. One billion Indians have ZERO commercial semiconductor fabrication capability.

Obtaining high-technology is nearly impossible. Countries will not part with their crown jewels. Taiwan's Hans made an exception for China's Hans. That's it.

We are unlikely to see another country industrialize in our lifetime, unless China is willing to industrialize them and provide a huge tech transfer.
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China's industrialization was an ethnic Han technological transfer. No other country in the world can experience a similar Han-technological transfer. Thus, China's industrialization isn't really a model for anyone.

Saudi Arabia has plenty of oil money. Saudi Arabia has built universities to improve its country's technology. Nothing happened. Why? Basic science is meaningless. It is the technological trade secrets that are really important.

Russia has an educated populace of 142 million. Russia also has hundreds of billions of oil wealth. Russia can't catch the US/Taiwan/China. Russia is not a manufacturing power. Why not? Russia has more money than Hong Kong can ever dream of. Money is not the issue. Technology is the problem. Where can Russia buy the advanced semiconductor and electronics technology that it needs? There is no such supplier.

Money cannot buy advanced technology. Thus, Russia is stuck being an oil exporter and not a world manufacturing powerhouse.

Since 1971, Taiwan has earned large trade surpluses. Taiwan is world #4 in holding USPTO patents. Taiwan invented the improved technologies for all of the sectors that Taiwan dominates today. Could China have contested Taiwan's supremacy in these high-tech sectors after 1978 on its own. The answer is clearly "no." Taiwan didn't even care about the possibility of wealthy Europeans or Russians challenging Taiwan's high-tech dominance.

The only country that is superior to Taiwan technologically in semiconductors and electronics is the United States. I need to put an asterisk next to the preceding sentence. Taiwan TSMC's 3nm fab, scheduled to be operational in 2022, will be the world's most advanced semiconductor fabrication plant. Taiwan is a monster in advanced technology. China benefited by sharing a common ethnicity with Taiwan's Hans.

Taiwan's Hans worked hard for their dominant export position in many advanced technologies (such as CNC machine tools, logic-chip semiconductor fabrication, specialty chemicals, etc.). Taiwan's engineers generously upgraded mainland China's technological base.

In 1978, mainland China was one of the poorest nations in the world. China's civilian technology was in really bad shape. There is no way to go from a backwards nation to a pre-eminent manufacturing superpower without an infusion of high-technology from somebody. That somebody was Taiwan's Hans.

 

[Martian2]

The Brookings Institution cites a 2009 OECD review and credits Taiwan for China's high-tech exports.

At AsiaWind, I had previously posted citations that showed Taiwan is currently responsible for 60% of all mainland Chinese high-tech exports. The other 40% is shared by China (Huawei, ZTE, DJI, Sany, etc.), US, Europe, South Korea, and Japan.

This is logical, because Taiwan has a mountain of USPTO patents and shares its technology liberally with mainland China.

If you rip Taiwanese firms out of China today, China would lose 60% of its high-tech exports. For example, Taiwanese notebook computer manufacturers on mainland China export over one hundred million laptop computers per year.
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Technology Innovation - Brookings Institution (April 2013)

"Though lagging behind the U.S. and Japan, China does relatively well in international comparisons of S&T activity. R&D as a share of GDP rose from 0.6% to 1.5%, 1995-2008. This is well below American and Japanese levels, but indicates significant progress. Government provides over seventy percent of R&D funding, but this is a huge drop from the 1980s, when the state provided virtually all research money. Technology development is primarily concentrated in a few major urban areas, especially Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Chongqing, but is gradually spreading to other major cities. While China has become proficient in low-end production and R&D still concentrates on industrial projects, the country receives few inventive patents, and foreign firms (Taiwanese, Japanese, and Western) account for an increasing share of technology exports (up from seventy-three percent in 1998 to eighty-eight percent in 2005). Much of the latter is due to the heightened presence of Taiwanese high tech manufacturers on the mainland.[6]"
...
6. “OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy: China.” 2009. Paris: OECD, p. 1. http://www.oecd.org/science/ innovationinsciencetechnologyandindustry/39177453.pdf (OECD) (retrieved 2/11/13); Thornley, et al., op. cit., p. 4; “IT in Taiwan and China: Hybrid vigour.” 2010. The Economist, May 27, pp. 1-2. www.economist. com/node/16220584 (retrieved 2/20/13).

 

[dy1022]

IC is one of high-technology industry, but not everything, do not brag too much, we all know what's USA doing in Taiwan's IC industry history.


OP is
How did China transform from a poor country into the world's second largest economy?

better focus on Billion PP's Economy overall. keep talking about 20 Million PP(Taiwan)'s role is like Spamming.