China's Shift from Manufacturing to Innovation: Growing Role in Design and Development

Did I just read that right? Is China actually beginning to show signs of innovation? If you’re shaking your heads in disagreement then you’re wrong. In this day and age, we are seeing an increase in ‘China Designed’ products, not just ‘made in China’ ones. This should be of no surprise when China has cities like Shenzhen, the leading hardware hub of the World, not to mention the ironclad supply-chain running throughout this ecosystem. The development and manufacturing growth in China has accelerated to the point where consumer products are being brought out faster than a consumer can consume! And who is accommodating this growth? China is!

What’s happening in China?

We are no strangers to China’s expertise in the manufacturing industry. However, we have been unaware of the innovation side of China. Throughout the past century, innovation has always spilled out of Europe, and the States. But, are the tables finally turning? With companies such as Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, etc… China is fast becoming a leader in the electronics industry. Considering how Apple is now ranked third behind Huawei in the global sales of smartphones, Samsung being first.

This is an example of how Chinese companies are slowly dominating the consumer market, with their own designs and innovation. Several weeks ago, electronic giant, Xiaomi was valued at $54 billion USD IPO making it one of the largest tech firms from China to reach that status. What we are seeing are high-quality products being sold at affordable prices to consumers, and with business models such as Xiaomi’s, this has become reality. We are at the beginning of a technological revolution as phones, laptops, televisions, S.M.A.R.T devices are becoming prominently easier to come by, connecting even the most rural areas of the World. Again Xiaomi is one of these companies accomplishing this, and guess what, they’re a Chinese company.

Take DJI for example. DJI is a drone company, leading the World in this market with a 70% dominance compared to their competitors. Before DJI I cannot name any other company working on consumer drone technology. I’m not saying there wasn’t, I’m just explaining how Chinese innovation is starting to dominate, even surpass the West.

How does this effect your startup?

If you’re a hardware start-up then you have nothing to worry about, in fact, be happy. To know that there is a place in the World where your production costs are kept low, your lead time is exceptionally minimal, and to produce high quality in large quantities. It’s a breeding ground for hardware start-ups, and missing out on this advantage would be devastating.

We all haven’t gotten past this ‘fake China’ mindset, and in honest I don’t see that changing any time soon. However, every hardware company knows, that to compete in the World of electronics you need to produce on a large scale whilst maintaining quality, and at a low cost. China is that country.

Take advantage of this great opportunity. The point of this blog is to instill the key points that China has to offer. As I have been explaining the success, and the innovation of Chinese companies, the picture is becoming clear. China is now designing, they are developing, and most importantly they are manufacturing. The hardware landscape is changing rapidly, eventually, innovation will no longer be for the West to be proud of, as China has caught up, and may even race ahead.

As China is a data hub, constantly absorbing information, as compared to the West. I won’t be surprised if Chinese artificial intelligence surpasses the Globe . The dynamics are changing, and these Eastern companies are pioneering this growth. What will be next to come from this new age of innovative China?

Written by: Frederick Bravey