China has always been referred to as a maker of cheap plastic products, but as the country develops they want to change that image. The government wants to discourage low-end manufacturers from operating in southern China and support innovation. China's economy is closely linked with the level of technology they produce. For instance, South Korea and Japan started out much like China and now they are producers of high-tech global brand names. China is ready to make the transition from housing low-skilled and low-cost manufacturers for toys, clothes, and other goods to more complicated and sophisticated products such as software, biotechnology, medical devices, and even commercial passenger jets. Once China starts production in these high-tech industries, the cheaper goods will move to lower-cost countries such as India, Vietnam, or Bangladesh. Then it will only be a matter of time before these countries are affected by technology and their economy will begin to grow.
Technology has an interesting relationship with globalization (from this article), which brings up a point that not only will other countries have to produce the cheap items for the Unites States and Europe, but also for China itself. Africa is introduced as another lost-cost manufacturing site, but Africa is desperately behind in terms of technology and the ability to have a stable industrial environment.
China's new interest in technology has come a lot from their military. Even though they have a communist government, they are reducing budgets and letting agencies privatize their business. This puts all of the technology out in the open, where most people are not expecting it. For example, a company called BYD (Build Your Dream) has grown into the second largest battery producer, and now it plans on designing and making a green energy car. This corporation is making this giant leap because they have the technology and are ready to face up to other big businesses.
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