Where are China's Apple and Steve Jobs

By Gong Wen

China.org.cn, October 13, 2011

Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs' passing on Oct. 5, 2011 drew the attentions of many Chinese people memorized by the visionary and creative pioneer of the IT industry. One day before Jobs' death, Apple launched its new smart phone – the iPhone 4S.

Around the same time, a Chinese court announced its ruling in the disputes between two leading Chinese IT companies, Qihoo and Tencent. The various lawsuits between the two companies include invasion-of-privacy and anti-trust lawsuits. As might be expected, this news received far fewer headlines.

The two events may seem unrelated, but they in fact vividly reflect a fundamental difference between Apple and the Chinese IT industry – one achieves success through rapid innovation, while the other quarrel for advantage by undermining one another.

Jobs once said: "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower," and "Innovation has no limits. The only limit is your imagination. It's time for you to begin thinking out of the box." Indeed, from PCs to smart phones, from animated features to music distribution, Jobs had for many times led the industry to jump "out of the box," totally changing the understanding of technology for suppliers and consumers alike. As Time magazine pointed out, "Jobs did something that few people accomplish even once: he reinvented entire industries."

However, Chinese tech industry has always been a follower rather than a leader. Video sharing websites baring striking resemblance to Youtube, microblog platforms being modeled after Twitter, mobile phone industry having long been labeled as "Shan Zhai" – a Chinese nickname for knockoffs… it seems that Chinese tech industry is always following steps of innovators of the West.

"Energy and persistence conquer all things." Jobs had always been persisted in his beliefs and ideals in spite of failures and difficulties, even when he was forced out of Apple in 1985. And while most Chinese IT companies devote to imitating others, Jobs adhered to his own styles even when he was losing the war for PC dominance to Bill Gates and Microsoft.

Jobs' weapon to defeat the competition was to research and develop newer and better products, and with that he made Apple the most valuable company in the world. Contrarily, most Chinese IT leaders spend more energy on debating "who is the No. 1 in China?" (For example, the dispute between two Chinese leading portal website, sohu.com and sina.com) or focus on ways to undermine competitors through legal or illegal means (as seen in the disputes between Qihoo and Tencent).

Why does Chinese tech industry lack companies like Apple and leaders like Jobs? The answer seems quite clear: Jobs and Apple created a culture of technology where creativity dominated imitation, persisting in their beliefs rather than pursuing short-term profits.

China's IT companies like to invest a lot of money in various "innovation projects" every year. This runs counterpoint to what Jobs once said: "Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it." Therefore, capital is not what Chinese IT industry needs most, because without the spirits of innovation and persistence, IT industry in China will always remain a follower.

Gong Wen is a visiting scholar at the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.