Duval Times

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has issued a review of the "Made in China 2025" initiative, a decade after its announcement by Beijing. The report suggests that China is on the verge of achieving its ambitious goals to dominate high-value, high-technology sectors.

In May 2015, China unveiled a ten-year plan aiming to become a leader in various advanced industries. According to Rubio's report, “China has reached, or is near to reaching, the technological cutting edge in most of the sectors it has targeted.”

The report highlights China's advancements across multiple domains. The country now exports more electric vehicles and general automobiles than any other nation and controls over 80 percent of the global solar power supply chain. It has also completed the world's first fourth-generation nuclear reactor and boasts 28,000 miles of high-speed rail track. Additionally, China's shipbuilding capacity surpasses that of the United States by a factor of more than 200.

China's space sector is competitive with those of America and Russia, while Chinese biotech companies are producing novel drugs and therapies. Though their new materials research and development base may be vast but unexceptional, Chinese firms are steadily gaining ground in robotics. Moreover, Beijing’s microchip manufacturers are nearing dominance in legacy chip production.

Rubio cautions against dismissing these developments due to narratives suggesting China's economic collapse. He emphasizes that even if such an outcome were anticipated, it would not mitigate the current threat posed by China.

To counteract China's progress and prevent it from surpassing the United States in the next decade, Rubio advocates for a comprehensive industrial policy involving significant investment in critical sectors, deregulation, tariffs, technology transfer restrictions, and stronger measures against espionage and intellectual property theft.

“This is not a call to [adopt Beijing’s methods],” Rubio clarifies. “It is simply a call to return to America’s roots of supporting critical industries, both proven and promising.” He warns that failure to act could mean missing crucial lessons from "Made in China 2025."

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