... They are making Jet engines. Lots of them.

This article is full of laymen's inaccuracy that indicates the author is not anywhere close to the depth of the field.

> China’s first fifth-generation fighter, the Chengdu J-20B, relied on a thirty-year old Russian AL-31 for a full decade until its domestic WS-15 program, which was started in the 1990s, was deemed ready for production.

There is no J-20B J-20 has been using WS-10C for at least 3-5 years

> China has excelled in industries with legible technological targets, well-known manufacturing processes, and fast iteration cycles.

I cannot believe people still think an advancing manufacturing economy just stops at certain threshold. That's plainly illogical.

Jet engine has legible technology targets. Well-known manufacturing processes. Not-so-fast-in-common-sense iteration cycles.

If I am poor, of cuz I am not have time to make a beautiful suit for myself. I need to first make the house, a shabby one as well. Until one day I started make the suit. That has nothing to do with the suit being less clear targets, processes, or whatever.

> Additionally, there was existing synergy China could exploit. Chinese EV success was predicated on earlier successes in battery manufacturing.

Yes, of cuz, battery manufacturing was considered beyond China's capability before ...