Implications for EU of Made in China 2025

“Made in China 2025” is a strategic plan that was initiated in 2015 to reduce China’s dependence on foreign technology and promote Chinese technological manufacturers in the global marketplace.

Description
Made in China 2025 is a strategic plan to reduce China’s dependence on foreign technology and promote Chinese technological manufacturers in the global marketplace. The goal is to reach this objective by the year 2025, a decade from the year when the plan first took root.

The purpose of “Made in China 2025” is to change its perception from a low-end manufacturer to a high-end producer. The plan is only a small portion of a larger directive to develop innovation-driven technology and networks that the current administration is pushing as part of a comprehensive agenda. By taking advantage of the opportunity to achieve new sources of growth, Chinese administrators hope to boost manufacturing capabilities to put them in line with other industrialized nations. By increasing the country’s technological capabilities, China will not be as dependent on other nations for advanced technology and can improve its trajectory in a manner commensurate with its overall objectives.

Relevance
The plan has led to global controversies. As it has provided detailed instructions based on how much of the country’s technology market would be controlled by Chinese companies and how many individual parts in products had to be manufactured in China. This was seen by some to be against free trade principles that seek to level the playing field. Additionally, if China becomes self-sufficient, this would enable it to become a larger provider in the global market. This has rightfully instilled fears in manufacturers in other countries since this momentum could disrupt the marketplace that other countries have had and depended on for decades.