[johncole]

Do Chinas state subsidies encourage innovation?

This story is a great example of the system taking a brilliant person, and stomping their opportunity down because they were from the wrong class. But replace class with whatever you like.

[jauco]

They do actually. There’s a fair bit of critique you can level at the system from a country-wide economic perspective and especially from a world-trade perspective, but they did manage to get a system in place where a central government can influence both the area and speed of innovation.

The main thing they do is stack the market to be very favourable for a given industry and then have extreme competition between the companies.

[johncole]

Extreme subsidy between the competitors.

[fakedang]

They not only encourage innovation but also cross-pollination too. So say you discovered some minor technology, they'll even help you connect with other folks who work in the space, potentially combine the innovations together to create a new final product that can actually be licensed to OEMs.

Where I find China lacking is in creativity and imagination. Yes, there are some changes in that front happening, but you'll never find OpenAI, Helion Energy or SpaceX being founded in China. Those projects won't even get the greenlight from the CCP to get started off the ground because of their high capital and startup costs.

[johncole]

Dictatorships are always more efficient in the short run.

[tim333]

Some of them. Turkmenistan isn't doing that great.

[expedition32]

The only thing the state needs to do is

Infrastructure Education Political stability

Individuals will do the rest.

As we know the CCP-for all it's faults- has provided all of the above.

[johncole]

It provided the above to a select few that thought the way they were supposed to. It also did NOT provide to a few million that didn’t think the correct way.