[SirHumphrey]

Yes? The replication of the foreign capability domestically has been a driving force of China's economy for the last 20 - 30 years. No major R&D program in which china is catching up or even exceeding the western capability was started there, even the quite recent AI boom is mostly based on the work of American companies and labs.

If anything the constant underestimation of Chinese capabilities caused "the west" to react way to late.