Made in China 2025 and Industrie 4.0: The difficult Chinese transition from catching up to an economy driven by innovation

Abstract

This article compares the main programs implemented by the Chinese government to raise the technology level of its economy and the platform Industrie 4.0, sponsored by the German government. World reference for advanced and emerging countries, the platform Industrie 4.0 is causing profound transformations in the manufacturing universe with impacts across society. The authors argue that China has not yet reached the standards of Germany and countries such as the United States and Japan in the arena of advanced manufacturing technologies. The implementation of ambitious Chinese plans, especially Made in China 2025, face significant institutional and technological challenges, such as the structural uncertainty that permeates the economy, government preference for public enterprises and large private corporations, derived from the top-down style of decision that marks the performance of the Chinese state. The authors emphasize that the continuity of Chinese progression beyond catching up depends on its ability to combine the search for breakthrough technologies with the construction of a more flexible environment, able to diffuse innovation in the economy and maintain the constant upgrading of endogenous capacities of st & i development in China.