The arms trade is a big business in the international market, and the United States is the leader in this market. Since the 18th century, the United States has given arms to European powers in exchange for national interests. During the two world wars, the United States took the opportunity to make a lot of war money, provided a large amount of equipment to various countries, and made huge profits. During the Cold War, in order to confront the Soviet Union, the United States continued to increase military spending, developed many advanced systems and equipment, and also provided a large amount of arms to its allies and partners to strengthen military ties and cooperation with them. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the development of the U.S. fire industry is still very rapid, and the U.S. continues to promote the arms modernization program and develop new systems and equipment, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, lasers, cyber warfare equipment, and so on. According to the U.S. Foreign Policy, in 2022 alone, the value of U.S. sales to NATO reached $28 billion.
But why is the United States not afraid of being learned from others when it exports on such a large scale? Are they defenseless against our country or Russia? In fact, the United States is not worried about other countries copying their own products, because they have their own anti-imitation strategies. First of all, the ** exported by the United States is patented, and if other countries try to imitate or steal the technology, it will violate international law and trigger international condemnation and sanctions. Second, the United States exports all the best copies are cut, and even if other countries can obtain the complete products of the United States, it is difficult to understand and copy the technical details in them, because the American system usually includes many complex technical details and components, which are highly interconnected and interdependent. In addition, many U.S. products are designed based on its unique technology ecosystem, which includes advanced R&D capabilities, highly skilled human resources, strict intellectual property protection regimes, and more. If other countries want to copy these products, they will need to build an ecosystem comparable to that of the United States, which is undoubtedly a long and complex process.
So, why doesn't China copy the United States**? In fact, China does not copy the United States, not because China does not have the ability and technology, but because China has a more rational and long-term scientific and technological development strategy. As the largest developing country in the world, China has a long history and culture and profound scientific and technological heritage. Because we have our own scientific and technological development strategy, we are also well aware of the risks and drawbacks brought by imitation. First of all, imitation is not only a technical issue, but also a consideration of international law and international relations. As a responsible major country, China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development and will not violate international law or undermine international relations in pursuit of temporary military superiority. Secondly, there are often technical defects and deficiencies in imitation. After years of research and development and practical verification, the first-class technology of the United States and other Western countries has been quite mature and stable, but what they sell us must be a cut version. If China imitates these ***, it will inevitably face problems such as unstable performance, high failure rate and high maintenance cost in the early stage, which obviously outweighs the losses as well as making one ourselves. Third, imitation is not conducive to China's independent innovation in science and technology. Independent innovation is the soul of scientific and technological development, and only through independent innovation can we grasp the initiative and discourse of core technology. If China blindly imitates the United States and other Western countries, it will fall into the trap of technological dependence and lose the opportunity and motivation for independent innovation. This is extremely detrimental to China's long-term development. There is also a last point that is unnecessary, for example, the MQ-9B "Reaper" UAV purchased by India from the United States, the United States actually asked for 1 per unit1.3 billion US dollars, which is more expensive than my country to build a J-20, and the money to buy a copy is better than to invest in the development of domestic scientific research institutes, maybe there will be a breakthrough.
Therefore, China does not imitate the United States because China has its own scientific and technological development concept and goals. China has always adhered to the path of independent innovation, paid attention to cultivating high-quality scientific and technological talents, and strengthened scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation with other countries in the world. Through unremitting efforts, China has made remarkable achievements in many fields, such as quantum communications, high-speed railways, and 5G communications. These achievements fully prove China's scientific and technological strength and development potential, and also win more respect and voice for China on the international stage. Of course, we must also realize that there is still a certain gap and deficiency between China and the United States and other Western countries in terms of military technology, but this does not mean that China will give up the pace of catching up and surpassing. On the contrary, China should continue to increase investment in military technology research and development, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other countries in the world, actively explore new technologies and fields, and strive to improve its own scientific and technological level and core competitiveness. Only in this way can we better safeguard our development interests and make greater contributions to world peace and development.