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Analysis and opinion · Book review · 8 Oct 2026 · 5 min

China’s Next Miracle

How China is reversing the way innovation works, and what that means for the sectors that carry Europe.

By China Connect

The film is in Dutch.

Book: China’s Next Miracle
Author: Pascal Coppens
Published: Pelckmans, 2025

The film 05:16

The presentation 19 slides

China's Next Miracle · Translated from the Dutch original.

01 Opening: the book, the author and the structure
04 The core: the Fosbury flop and China's four miracles
08 How China innovates: speed, ecosystems, talent, AI and invisible companies
13 The fourth miracle: China's future and the caveats
16 What this means for entrepreneurs

Book review · Pascal Coppens · China's Next Miracle · How China rewrites the innovation model, and what it means for entrepreneurs · ChinaConnect · October 2026 — 01 / 19

Programme · Four parts, one leap · China is not simply running faster than us. It clears the bar in a different way. · The core: the Fosbury flop · How China innovates · The fourth miracle: China in 2035 · What does this mean for us? · ChinaConnect · China's Next Miracle — 02 / 19

The book · 100+ tips to stay in the race · Pelckmans, November 2025 · English edition February 2026 · 8 chapters, over 100 tips · Pascal Coppens · Sinologist (Ghent University), lived in China for ± 20 years, worked in Shanghai and Silicon Valley · Partner at nexxworks · Earlier books: China's New N — 03 / 19

Part 1 of 4 · The core · China is not running faster on the same track. It is changing the way of jumping. — 04 / 19

The Fosbury flop · China reverses the order of innovation · The Western model · Quality first, then scale · Perfect the product before launch · Strategy and planning set the course · Return per project as the yardstick · Innovation from the inside out · The Chinese model · Volume first, then quality — 05 / 19

From miracle to miracle · After three Chinese miracles comes the fourth · Factory of the world · Reforms and exports make China the workshop of the world. · Digital pioneer · Mobile payments, e-commerce and super-apps outpace the West. · Made in China 2025 · The plan to dominate high-tech industry. — 06 / 19

The red pill · “There's no point checking your rear-view mirror for something that has already passed you.” · Pascal Coppens, introduction to China's Next Miracle (free translation) · His call to Western leaders: take the red pill. See China as it is today, not as we remember it. · Source: introduct — 07 / 19

Part 2 of 4 · How China innovates · Speed, ecosystems, talent and AI: the engines behind the next miracle. — 08 / 19

The engine · Five engines of Chinese innovation · Survival speed · Sell a minimal product, then improve. Temu challenged Alibaba by cutting out middlemen. · Despite the system · Private firms such as Huawei, BYD and DJI started as copycats and climbed fast. · Ecosystems · Freedom at the bottom, cont — 09 / 19

A billion brains · Talent and technology in figures · 3m+ · STEM graduates per year · Versus ± 800,000 in the US · of those who studied abroad return · Over 6 million students since 2000 · 8 out of 10 · top Nature Index institutions are Chinese universities · Measured on scientific output · 66 of 74 — 10 / 19

The service factory of the world · AI for everyone · After the factory of the world, China becomes the service factory, with AI as its engine. · “China wants to democratise AI. America wants to monopolise it.” · Pascal Coppens, Solar Magazine (June 2026) · DeepSeek · Top-level performance on a fract — 11 / 19

Invisible China · The companies we don't know · Who knows Wang Chuanfu (BYD) or Lei Jun (Xiaomi)? Coppens calls them 'faceless companies'. Meanwhile they are taking over the world market. · Fully electric cars sold in 2025 · BYD · 2.25m · Tesla · 1.64m · Source: Electrek (2 Jan 2026), based on compa — 12 / 19

Part 3 of 4 · The fourth miracle · China as an innovation superpower around 2035, and the questions that come with it. — 13 / 19

China in 2035 · The future according to Coppens · His expectation: by 2035 Europe will get a wake-up call. · The real tsunami is yet to come · After solar panels and cars come the sectors that keep Europe running: chemicals, cars and machinery. · The first electrostate · Cleantech is ± 10% of GDP. C — 14 / 19

Caveats · Five question marks · The book is a wake-up call, and deliberately sharp. This belongs in the picture too. · Export-led growth · ± 5% growth in 2025, but with deflation, a property crisis and a record trade surplus of ± $1,200 bn. · Involution · The EV price war has lasted for years. Beiji — 15 / 19

Part 4 of 4 · What does this mean for us? · Cooperate or suffer: the choice Coppens puts to Europe. — 16 / 19

What does this mean for us? · Six actions for European entrepreneurs · Take the red pill · Go and see. China is the world's toughest market for learning, talent and speed. · Co-develop in China · Invest to develop together, not to dump. Bring R&D to China. · Combine strengths · Unique Western kn — 17 / 19

Sources · Further reading · Coppens, P. (2025). China's Next Miracle. 100+ tips om in de race te blijven nu China het innovatiemodel herschrijft. Pelckmans. English edition: February 2026. · MT/Sprout (9 Feb 2026). Six stubborn misconceptions about China: Europe has two choices, cooperate or suffer. — 18 / 19

In closing · Cooperate or suffer · Whoever survives in China can compete anywhere. · chinaconnect.be → — 19 / 19

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