[roenxi]

This article seems not to actually answer its own headline - it doesn't really go into the details of why the US fell behind. I think it is important to keep that reason front and centre.

China made a lot of sacrifices. It opened sweatshops, allowed the skys above various key cities to be blackened with horrible smogs, and who knows what other evil deeds were done in the name of their industrial policy. The result is that they are a manufacturing superpower. If you follow real metrics like energy production, the figures suggest they've built >1 US economy in the last 50 years, while the US appears to have built 0 US economies and are carrying on with momentum left over from before the 70s [0]. It is not surprising that new industry is based in China.

DJI is not a tactical problem, the US is failing here on a strategic level. Probably with an epicentre in Washington, but possibly from the citizenry deciding they don't want to be the leading industrial power any more. I don't think it was ever a contender for taking the lead in mass producing the next cheap military technology.

[0] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=c...