Opinion | How China, Japan and South Korea can be titans of tech innovation
As Japan and South Korea struggled to reach trade deals with the US, China’s economic leverage offers an example for the rest of the region
Trump accused Japan of not buying enough rice and cars from the US. It’s worth noting that the American car industry is simply not competitive in Japan. Germany, Japan and China are the top three auto exporters. Those countries, along with South Korea, have commanded high surpluses in the global auto trade while the US has incurred a steep deficit.
Unlike Japan and South Korea, whose manufacturing is largely based on home-grown technologies, China has long played the role of an original equipment manufacturer. While laptops and smartphones represent a key proportion of China’s exports to the US, many of them are made for foreign brands. Geopolitics and cost factors notwithstanding, such a role is dispensable.