http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10...

there were very little innovation that came out of Japan in the last 20 years. They were overtaken by their Korean counterparts (LG/Samsung > Sony/Panasonic/Toshiba/etc.) and American (HP/Dell/Apple/etc.). Ok you have Toyota/Nissan/Honda,etc. but their success was not due to innovation but was mostly due to GM/Ford/Chrysler's inability to make good cars.

Innovation is not limited to only consumer end-products but happens through the whole design-manufacture-logistics-market chain. This is where e.g. Toyota has famously excelled.

There is more to this world than mobile phones and computers. A lot of innovation happens in b2b end products also, with less fuzz.

My point is that China could do that same transition, even if now Chinese brands are mostly me-too.

Looking at the other time scales - there were periods when the world around China was striving to and happy to be "me-too of China" and there is nothing that precludes that from happening again, even more - China seems to have learnt the lesson about the limits on trusting to Western civilizations, and their current "me-too" is manifestation of shrewd practicality as it is the fastest way to get the humongous country from being mostly agricultural 10-20 years ago to the leaders of the world. You just may not like the "Apples" that will come out of China :)