NorthJersey

Regarding “Why China beats U.S. innovation” (Page 9L, April 18):

As a nation, we have been so preoccupied with the foibles of the Trump administration that we have failed to see the ominous signs regarding the decline in the United States’ leadership in inventing and commercializing new products. As the Bell Laboratories have gone the way of the Dodo bird, hopefully the United States will be able to maintain its leadership in research and development in the face of the tremendous challenge presented by China.

In the blink of an eye, China, as reported by the Boston Consulting Group’s study which was released on Monday, has surpassed the United States in spending in late-stage research and development of new products. As a 9,000-year-old civilization, it should come as no surprise to Americans that today China, a hybrid capitalist/communist economy, has seized the leading role in the discovery of new products. Have we forgotten that the Chinese invented gunpowder, circa 900 A.D., and that gunpowder revolutionized warfare and after the travels of Marco Polo, Western Civilization.

In retrospect, it is obvious that we have not learned to respect the achievements and accomplishments of China and other Eastern cultures after the end of World War II and the Korean War and our Vietnam experience. It is difficult enough to admit America’s loss of leadership in the areas of auto manufacturing and in the fields of computer, as well as digital and drone technology.

This decline has resulted in a tremendous blow to the U.S. economy in terms of the loss of billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs over the last 20 years.

Much of this decline also calls into question the position of the United States in the areas of ballistic technology and overall military superiority. Once China entered the Korean War in 1950 versus the United Nations’ forces, the balance of power shifted dramatically. This was due to the overwhelming number of troops that China committed to bring the fighting to a standstill, and eventually leading to 56,000 American casualties, and to a draw at the 38th parallel.

As the Chinese invention of gunpowder in 900 A.D. has had a lasting effect on human history, China’s evolving superiority in technological research and development will have a profound effect on the global economy and the position of the United States in that economy during the 21st century. Let’s hope that America can meet the challenge.

Paul G. Rizzo

Carlstadt, April 18