China is rapidly narrowing the space for foreign companies to trade with it, pursuing a model in which self-reliance overrides openness. As the FT argues, Beijing increasingly sees no imported product it cannot eventually redesign, produce more cheaply and control domestically. The country remains a major buyer of semiconductors, software, large commercial aircraft and advanced manufacturing equipment — but only temporarily.
China treats these purchases as a student absorbs training: essential for now, but merely a stepping stone. Its industrial policy is geared toward replacing foreign suppliers in every strategic sector, and ultimately exporting these same technologies abroad. The message for global manufacturers is blunt: China may still be a huge customer today, but it is working relentlessly to ensure it will no longer need them tomorrow.
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The narrative underscores long-term competitive pressure on global tech, aerospace and industrial-equipment exporters, heightening concerns around market access, supply-chain decoupling and strategic overdependence on China.
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