Curiosidade do dia

"A Faustian bargain with China 

Western firms are now suffering the consequences of their "Faustian bargain" with China, says Kyle Chan. China has been following "a classic industrial policy playbook" used by East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Foreign companies are drawn in by China's vast market and low-cost manufacturing base and agree to help China develop its domestic industries. Over time, China pushes these firms to share more of their technology and use more Chinese suppliers. Foreign firms end up training a cohort of Chinese engineers and managers, who later help Chinese companies or launch start-ups. Time and again, what starts off as a useful partnership for foreign firms ends up with them helping to grow their most formidable competitors. Then, as the Chinese firms become more competitive, they squeeze the foreign firm out of the China market, and then challenge them in markets outside of China too. Foreign firms keep making the same mistake. They are lured in by the prospective profits and are overconfident about their ability to stay a few steps ahead of Chinese development. The most infamous example is Elon Musk, who in 2011 laughed at the idea that China could produce a car to rival his Teslas. Now, BYD is the world's largest electric-car company and Tesla's main competitor."

Trechos retirados de "China's Faustian bargain for foreign firms"