There are two areas of advanced industrial processes that China still fails to master:
Chip Making and Jet Turbine Blades.
Indeed there are several Chinese-designed Chips, yet to produce them you need one of these:
It can easily be argued that this is the most advanced piece of machinery in the world. To function it combines laser, radio and EUV optics, semiconductors, robotics, advanced material engineering, industrial chemistry, applied quantum physics.
While Chinese companies are indeed able to engineer their chip-sets, to manufacture them to the last standards they have to lease the technology from European or American companies. Chinese made machines are still about two generations back.
The Chinese aviation industry is indeed making great progress, yet it is nowhere near to be able to manufacture one of these: which in turn means that their jet engines are at least 20 years behind current GE or Rolls-Royce engines. Indeed China has yet to be able to manufacture a single reliable passenger jet despite purchasing Western Engines and avionics, as the Comac C919 project is still riddled with issues.
Once China masters these processes we can definitely state that the “catch-up” phase is complete.
Credit : Quora
Picture Credit : Google