China's manufacturing locus in 2025: With a comparison of “Made-in-China 2025” and “Industry 4.0”

In this study, we have compared Germany's “Industry 4.0” and China's “Made-in-China 2025” and estimated China's locus in “Made-in-China 2025”. “Made-in-China 2025” has clear goals, measures and sector focus. Its guiding principles are to enhance industrial capability through innovation-driven manufacturing, optimize the structure of Chinese industry, emphasize quality over quantity, train and attract talent, and achieve green manufacturing and environment. Data show that currently China is no longer the lowest–cost labor market; it is being squeezed by newly emerging low-cost producers such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Meanwhile, China is not the strongest player in the high-tech arena; well-established industrialized nations, the US, Germany, and Japan, have all effectively deployed digital technology to create new industrial environments, produce new products, and improve their well-established brands. Having analyzed the data from the World Bank and China's National Bureau of Statistics, we find an upward trajectory in China in manufacturing capability development, research and development commitment, and human capital investment. However, implementing an ambitious strategic plan such as “Made-in-China 2025” is coupled with challenges. This research helps us understand the relationship between technological entrepreneurship and socio-economic changes in emerging economies such as China. Furthermore, the experience accumulated in China can be referenced by both emerging economies and developed nations to advance their technological entrepreneurship.