China's trajectory of manufacturing is quite interesting. Here is an abstract from an article in NYT:
Economic textbooks lay out a common trajectory for developing nations. First they make shoes, then steel. Next they move into cars, computers and cellphones. Eventually the most advanced economies tackle semiconductors and automation. As they climb up the manufacturing ladder, they abandon some cheaper goods along the way.
[...]Look at the evolution of what China sells to the rest of the world. As it ramped up its manufacturing engine in 2000, China was pretty good at making basic products like toys and umbrellas. By 2016, China had moved into more expensive goods like cellphones and computers, while making even more of the cheaper stuff.
The next phase, which includes the most valuable products in the world, will be harder. China can’t make chips as small and fast as the United States can. Its cars are mostly sold at home. Its manufacturing prowess is built on the back of engineering and expertise from the West.
Both the Apple iPhone and Huawei Mate 10 are assembled in Chinese factories. Both rely on pieces from outside China. The most intricate and expensive technology in the Huawei phone, the motherboard, has a Chinese processor, but it is primarily composed of chips from American, South Korean and Japanese companies. The 2.8-inch board accounts for 52 percent of the cost of the phone, according to data from TechInsights.
