Wish N Chips

There's much to learn amidst America and China's post-tech breakup, chiefly the limits to the CCP's power over China's markets. The western, MSM-shaped perception is that the government makes and breaks corporations like some kind of Hollywood Golden Era studio head with a stable of stars.

Speaking of Stars, China's NASDAQesque Star Market is where new domestic tech hopefuls will go to fuel growth, not Zhongnanhai. Granted, companies such as CPU maker Loongson have received numerous government subsidies. But chip users across the Middle Kingdom still miss their Intel and AMD. Imagine if Starbucks and McDonald's left town: it would take some time to readjust to Luckin and Dico's, subsidized or otherwise.

"Loongson is struggling due to lack of an established brand," says Edward Lehman. "And this underlines the under-acknowledged power of China's private enterprise. In terms of entrepreneurial success, we're way past a planned economy. And the Star Market will be a key mechanism for fueling that success, in terms of the companies China needs for tech independence."