A little footnote, if you don't mind. Americans have also contributed to the rest of the world being at out throats trying to steal our success. We have advertised our lifestyle tirelessly. Look at the average Chinese or Indian or Brazilian person, what did they want to own when they were growing up, a bicycle, a TATA, a Trabant or a Cadillac? I don't blame Americans for advertising their life style, I'm all for it (If you got it, flaunt it), but we can't blame Chinese trying to pull the blanket over. They feel that it's their time.

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Oleg,
this isgreat point!!! Just think about it - there is no way for Chineese to have the same level of consumption. There is no enough steel on the planet to provide each family in China with a car

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We already partially outsource R&D today. My company uses India to make engineering drawings and some minor developments. Also we bring engineers from India to US for a year or so to help with development and testing.
Fortunately for us, Indian engineers suck. They take too much time and make many mistakes. But they can get better.

well, I would provide different alarming example. Colleage went to China for conference. Came back and told a story. They have 5000 PhDs graduated every year in science. In his area of expertise Chineese take each and every PhD dissertation defended in the US and repeat it. Not copy, they repeat each experiment described in the thesis. Coupled with huge influx of funds in science in few years they will be very close in the scientific development to the US. It will take another decade to convert it in technological challenge.

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well, in my previous company we almost never filed patents for production equipment we invented becuse after the patent is filed it becomes a public knowledge and not really honored outside of US, so Chinese and Japanese were stilling our ideas right out of the patent office.

You and Slavik both misspelled the word "stealing" before. Миша, do you think that that method will make Chinese better scientists? Soviets built half of their weaponry by rebuilding American ones болтик к болтику, шов к шву. Did it make great weapon makers out of them? Hardly. Although the method you described might differ.

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Every person I know who had visit China or did business with Chineese say otherwise.

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btw, when it comes to patents for technological innovations, it is frequently stolen here as well, not only in China... that is why technology is better to trademark, not patent. Or sell process -but it is also risky, people who work in other companies come and go, and might learn your technology and start their own business. So engineers guard their secrets....

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well, I meant more obvious examples. Many years ago Volvo built a track factory in China. One of the requirements to get a permission to build factory was to provide all drawings for the track. 2 years after Volvo started the production, a twin-factory was opened in other county. Other examples - car "Great Wall" (Toyota Rav4) or chineese jet- an exact copy one of the Sukhoy jets

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When anybody is dealing with Chinese - it should be understood, that behind any Chinese outfit - there is a Big daddy , Chinese government. They are looking out for their country interests only. Once the government gets hold of any information, they assume it is their property (as any communist entity does) and move on to use it for the good of their people. Or rather of their party. That is why the big businesses understand - they will have to surrender some of their interests, and small businesses have no way to succed in dealings with China, if they are to establish their presence on the main land.

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Global Cooling for the next 30 years!!! - Does not expire!!!