The principle of plagiarism lies at the core of China’s economic prosperity. Oddly enough, the practice of counterfeiting well-known brands set the stage for the economic boom. Nevertheless, counterfeit consumer goods are not the only secret about China’s economic wonder. Back in the 1990es, the government decided not to reinvent the wheel and adopted the American economic concepts on Chinese soil. The ruling party skillfully combined Communist ideas in foreign and domestic policy with Western principles of the market economy. Despite the dazzling economic performance, recently Beijing seems to have left the American path of economic development. Interestingly, the government has shifted focus away from the American pattern towards the German one.
Officially, the Communist-led government does not acknowledge the fact, albeit there is a lot of evidence confirming the shift of economic priorities. "China consulted German experts while writing its anti-monopoly regulations,” Head of the Asia and Pacific Department at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Dr. Peter Hefele twitted. “They copied a lot from German law,” he added.
Apart from that, in the blueprint for the economic development entitled Made in China 2025, the Chinese borrowed plenty of ideas from the German economic pattern, in particular, the draft of the so-called 4th industrial revolution in Germany (Industry 4.0). For example, Beijing is planning to step up manufacturing in the high-tech sector. In contrast, the US gives priority to the service sector which accounts for 78% of the national gross domestic product, whereas the manufacturing sector generates just 11% of the total economic output. The pillar of Germany’s economy represents medium-sized manufacturers. Likewise, Beijing has taken the course of supporting small and medium-sized companies.
