China coming of age

News & Politics
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My first job out of campus was with a German engineering firm. I remember the engineers trained us as you would a small kid or a retard, endless repetition. There was a time I asked one of the engineers to explain to me some technical details of the equipment and he gave me a long stare filled with disgust, the same way you’d look at a chokosh who has smeared faeces in his face and is asking for a lift. I realised that this aryans don’t view us as humans. In a way they are right. I have an engineering degree and can’t build sh1t. How do I raise capital for R&D? We are weak because our own government despises us.

After 3 years I joined a Chinese company selling a knockoff of the German equipment. For the longest time I despised the Chinese engineering until after a few years we were able to steal about 60% of the market share from the Germans. The equipment was flawed but it did work with half the purchase cost and half the running costs and satisfied our clients.

China doesn’t need to outdo the west in cutting edge tech, they need to produce acceptable quality at a cheaper price. I was reading about the MIG 25 which was made to intercept the SR 71. When a Russian pilot defected with the plane the American engineers studied it at length. They derided it as heavy, archaic, very poor fit and finish and non maneuverable with outdated vacuum tubes computers. However a group of engineers thought the jet was genius, the vacuum tubes meant it was resistant to jamming, the flight surfaces that mattered had precise engineering. The Swedish used to track the Sr 71 always closely followed by 2 foxbats albeit at a lower altitude. Twice the MIGs locked hypersonic missiles (R 77)but did not shoot. Once the MIGs streaked through tel aviv at mach 3.2 to deter Israel during the Egyptian war. It could outrun all the missiles of IDF and they couldn’t even get a lock. The Americans retired ths Sr 71 the next day. In Algeria the Israeli F15s had to abort a mission when mig 25 were scrambled. The Americans F15s used to run away from engaging with Iraq mig 25s. The jet is still in use today!

In short the lesser tech mig was able to ‘defeat’ the faster and more advanced Sr 71 by just being good enough.

Chinese have successfully built mono crystalline turbine blade an area they were lacking. Below is a steam turbine with vented blades. Same as jet engine tech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egx3TkgN7wM

Building a jet engine is harder than even microchips. It’s the last tech to master in order to be a superpower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFRdp1Js9Kc

They don’t need to exceed the west, just to be good enough. Same way a T90 tank and mosin nagant rifle were, non elegant but ruthlessly effective.

In a decade the Chinese will be able to match the west in all areas. One does not need the latest chip to be effective. The west is at 5nm and Chinese are stuck at 12nm. I use a 8 year computer and its still relevant and able to run some intensive 3D designs.

I believe African countries should invest part of their gdp on R&D. A civilization is measured by its tool making. We need to wake up!

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Africans think that they will one day wake up and start making industrial robots, machinery, cars and planes as good as the West and Asia’s.
They don’t know that you gain knowledge by stealing, acquisition and R&D.

China has 5 million STEM graduates a year and they seem determined to catch up with the West and surpass the few areas they are lacking.

So when I see a bonobo here deriding Chinese knock offs, I dismiss his as an unsalvageable ignoramus.

Kuiba and disregarding IP lazima tufanye.

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Their affordable smartphones and computing devices have allowed a significant section of us bonobos to experience the digital world (which has also benefited western companies like Facebook and Google). If these sectors had remained a monopoly of western companies, the cheapest smartphone would be $300 with pathetic specifications. I remember companies like Samsung started making twin SIM phones after the Chinese started flooding the market with them. Even the router I’m using (ZTE) is very capable and very cheap but does the job. Ingekuwa ya Cisco price ingekuwa 5 times more expensive.

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I struggle with this alot .

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Reverse engineering is a key part of R&D. Infringement of IP rights is a must. But its not as simple as you think. The Western powers will not just standby. Do you know how many years it took for China to reverse engineer ballpoint pens?

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They were only able to manufacture tips in 2017… Crazy when you think about it but the engineering needed to make the balls is very sophisticated. From precision machinery to high quality steel. Things Africans take for granted.

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leap frogging is our solution. From no electricity to universal CLEAN electricity now the west is trying to catch up, from no banks to mobile banking, from no phones to smart phones, from no jobs to internet enabled jobs from no food to organic nutritious food. Scrap all the blueprints and design our stuff from the ground up to suit our problems, we underestimate African intelligence but the actual cancer is low self esteem when that is solved African renaissance will be complete but it is happening in real time hope I live long enough to see it.

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We’re training lawyers in multiples to safeguard IP rights Za Western countries. We can’t proceed if we don’t dump their IP rights. We paid for them directly through slavery and colonialism.

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Hadnt even thought about the precision of the tools used to make ball points

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[SIZE=1]Mkubwa,ukicheza chini ebu saidia kuelewa R&D inamaanisha nini.[/SIZE]
Asande
Ama ata mimi nianze kuongeza terms zangu kama SOAP,REST, UDDI bla bla blaaa

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Chinese wakubali kuleta izo industries zao hapa Kenya (SEZ) uone vile watu ya form 4 itachangamka. Iyo masomo mingi sisi husoma huwa ya maana

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parrots za kijiji a MIA. they have no idea what’s under discussion. From this, I deduce that the chokosh wars is what drives traffic around here.

shit! an amateur software engineer but can’t also wrap my mind around these.

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If it was for Chinaman. Saa hii biz za Africa zingekuwa chini. Kwanza machine za hospital uropian make are almost 3 times the chinku.
Mimi wamenilea Sana na hizi knock off. Infact am a DIY electric bike to reduce transport cost.

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If you look at all those developed nations with hi-tech industries , the govts efforts were very deliberate in developing and supporting the innovations.
We can gain enough momentum privately but it will take some time.

The only problem i see is, the rest of the world may progress so fast for us to catch up… like in computing and electronics , aviation, advanced medical research and such , the way we have been left even catching up looks like a miracle…

An example, which is the earliest digital CPU that is of substantial use that we can copy and manufacture ???

even looking at the [SIZE=5]Intel 8080 microprocessor with specs, [/SIZE][SIZE=5](Launched: April 1974; 47 years ago )[/SIZE]
Max. CPU clock rate 2 MHz to 3.125 MHz
Data width 8 bits
Address width 16 bits.
Transistors: 6,000…

can we copy the architecture make it locally ???

Can we make a basic 3 axis metal CNC milling machine locally ?

Hi-tech manufacturing starts at the basics , I came up with 5 levels of technology advancement
1.making simple items using imported machinery- screws and screw drivers, cables (Africa is mostly here)
2.making the machinery that can make the simple items above
3.Assembling advanced machines and tools and being able to improvise some parts locally using locally made machines.
4.copying advanced technology and designs and consequently being able to make all parts locally(China is here but leaving soon)
5.innovating and producing your own new technology and adding new knowledge into the field and becoming science and technology pioneers(Western world and Japan are here)

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Industrialization has to start somewhere. Africans have plenty of opportunity to do the same even today without investing in R&D. There’s something called collaborations. I worked for a company that was requested to fabricate particular components. They didn’t have the capabilities. They collabed with a company that did. Formed a new company owned by both. And business thrived. It took 10 years but worked although legal disputes arose as to ownership, which my company won in a blind bid in court.

Do we have such collaborations already. Yes we do. Kenya/China sgr. Why have Chinese extend the original distance. This should have been done by Kenyans under Chinese watch. Design and build. How so? In the original design, a requirement should have been put to train Kenyan engineers to design and build. And give them a trial maybe build a 10 mile railway around Kiambu for example. But to let someone come and do everything for you, you never learn. But keep dreaming of industrializing. Flying before you can crawl.

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@Simiyu22
How much tech does it need to lay down this?

[ATTACH=full]360373[/ATTACH]

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How much tech does it take to make these? Yet we do not, and yet we churn out Ag Eng graduates yearly

[ATTACH=full]360376[/ATTACH]

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Even if we manufacture them locally, they still end up being more expensive than imported versions, which beats the whole purpose of “self-reliance”. JKUAT made a big deal of assembling their Taifa laptop. It turned out to be expensive, bulky, and with outdated specs.

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With all our pHDs, we can’t build that. It’s why I stated we have to start somewhere.

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Not much, hata a primary school kid can design these given the right skills and tools. Am glad we are having this conversation. Kwanza l believe Africas/Kenyans are way too creative just give us time for the Renaissance to completely unfold

We must industrialize to build wealth heck even protect the little we have. Pia me ni engineer, l can design and build something but what’s lacking is comprehensive government support. These things need deliberate effort kaa ya China because you are competing in a global marketplace. It’s the only way to go. Creativity is not a preserve ya western people alone, it’s universal . How many times have you come across beautifully built items from obscure countries kama Turkey, Mexico, South Africa etc… We can study n reverse engineer their tech starting small till we catch up even if it takes a generation or two. Then supply our local needs kwanza coz we are giving away so much money to foreigners via imports za kishenzi kaa padlocks, cutlery, sufurias, shamba tools. Basics we can design better suited for our local needs. But it needs to be done country/continent wide. Wewe na your kasmall manufacturing plant huezi break even coz of the zombies that you have put in leadership lack proper policies to grow anything.