You said China is #1 at nothing. It is #1 at one of the most important sectors in the world. So you backpedal and try to explain how they should actually be uber #1 because of population and other factors. Meanwhile, my family have years of experience doing business with China, including being employed by Chinese companies and dealing directly with the Chinese government. Without meaning to be disrespectful or mean, you should really be trying to educate yourself, not educate me. China has plenty of problems. The "problem" of not being able to manufacture their own ballpoint pen was just a matter of pride, not capability. It's not symptomatic of anything.

> Much smaller nations are producing passenger aircraft and automobiles used all over the world.

China is the world's largest auto manufacturer. Vehicles are one of their top 10 exports. Please revisit my point above about educating yourself about what is really happening there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_China