不幸的是，美国普遍存在这样一种感觉：中国将一直是输家，它只会模仿。但现实是
，认为中国在创新方面不能缩小差距的想法是幼稚的。我们可以从澄清普遍存在的错误看法开始。
第一，中国没有创新，只有盗版和模仿。其实，大多数创新始于模仿，美国也是从模仿“旧世界”的发明起步的。中国的很多“模仿”已经超越了仅仅复制美国同行的阶段。
第二，中国的创新是自上而下和由国家引导的，而真正的创新则是自下而上的。硅谷的企业家们可能对自上而下的方式不屑一顾。但请想一想，如果美国政府不资助给予互联网生命的国防部高级研究项目局，那么企业家们还不知道在什么地方呢。
第三，中国的知识产权保护太弱，不能鼓励创新。中国较弱的知识产权保护使培养一个有益于开放式创新的环境更加容易。当然，需要在使用知识产权与保护知识产权之间找到一个平衡。
第四，在全球化经济背景下，维持创新需要在国际市场上进行投资，而中国的品牌和软实力在国外既虚弱又过时。其实，中国影响力在世界发展速度最快地区的上升速度要比美国快得多。当中国的创新寻求意见或消费者时，当它们转向这些市场时，很可能拥有与美国品牌一样多甚至更好的机会。
第五，中国的教育模式强调死记硬背，而创新只能在鼓励探索、批判性思维的环境中蓬勃发展。然而实际上，美国制度自身也有好多缺陷。比如，商务部最近一篇报告强调，美国在科学、技术、工程学和数学教育方面被落下的差距日益增大。
诚然，中国的创新模式需要付出大量努力，但中国正通过许多途径学习美国。请记住，全球定位系统是美国国防部的产品，这没有错。但中国却是最先向人们提供罗盘的国家（But the Chinese were the ones who gave us the compass in the first
place）。（陈一译）
作者為塔夫斯大学（TuftsUniversity）高级副院长，以下為英文全文：
By Bhaskar Chakravorti, Special to CNN
Editor’s note: Bhaskar Chakravorti is
senior associate dean of International Business and Finance and founding
executive director of the Institute for Business in the Global Context at
The Fletcher School at Tufts University.The views expressed are the author's
own.
On a recent to visit to speak at the World
Economic Forum's Summer Davos in Tianjin, I was struck by the sense of urgency
among Chinese leaders to close the gap when it comes to innovation. It was
clear to me that it is time for the U.S. to pay close attention, because
urgency in China is generally followed by execution.
Unfortunately, America has worked itself up
over the wrong issues as far as “competitiveness” is concerned: we bemoan the
fact that China has taken our jobs (and 42 percent of Americans believe that
China is already the world’s largest economy, a Pew survey suggested). But
those worried about the country’s future would be better served focusing on
U.S. competitiveness in innovation, something that has the potential to put
this country’s growth back on track.
The problem is that there is a general (and
misplaced) belief that China will always be a loser, that it can only imitate,
not innovate. Critics argue that its society is too top-down and that American
innovation will always be buoyed by Silicon Valley.
More from CNN: U.S. needs an infrastructure
bank
But the reality is that it is naïve to
believe China cannot narrow the gap in innovation, and the second Obama
administration would do well to consider that America could actually learn a
thing or two from across the Pacific. And it could start by grappling with some
widely held myths:
1. There is no innovation in China, only
piracy and imitation.
Most innovation begins with imitation;
America got its start by imitating inventions from the Old World. Meanwhile,
many Chinese "imitations," such as Alibaba, Tencent or Sina Weibo,
have moved far beyond being mere copies of their U.S. counterparts. Each is
solving problems uniquely relevant to Chinese businesses and consumers,
something that could create platforms for innovations that are propelled into
global markets.
2. The Chinese approach to innovation is
too top-down and state-led – real innovation only comes from the bottom-up.
The Chinese state is committed to bringing
China to the ranks of the innovative nations by 2020. Silicon Valley
entrepreneurs might shudder at this top-down approach. Yet consider, for
example, where the American entrepreneur would be if the U.S. government had
not funded the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that gave birth to the
Internet. The state must play a role in investing in foundational innovations,
such as the Internet and mobile technologies. Once these foundations are laid,
then a competitive bottom-up ecosystem will encourage creative destruction. But
sadly, U.S. government investment in such foundational innovations has been on
a steady decline.
3. Intellectual property rights protection
in China is too weak to encourage innovation.
China's weaker intellectual property
protection could, arguably, make it easier to foster a climate conducive to
open innovation. Of course, a balance needs to be struck between open access to
intellectual property and protecting it – with no protection, innovation will
stall, because investors need returns on their investment. Unfortunately, in
the U.S., intellectual property protections block innovation just as much as
they promote it.
4. In a globalized economy, sustaining
innovation requires investment in international markets; China's brand and soft
power abroad is weak and dated.
Despite several unresolved issues such
as territorial disputes and balance of trade, China's influence in
the world's fast-growing regions, including Africa, Latin America and East
Asia, is growing more rapidly than that of the United States. When Chinese
innovations look for inputs or consumers and they turn to these markets, they
are likely to have as many opportunities as well-known U.S. brands – perhaps
even a better chance. Indeed, when it comes to ties with Africa and Latin
America, China is often one step ahead of the U.S.
5. China's education model emphasizes rote
learning; innovation can only flourish in environments that encourage
exploration, critical thinking and a broad education in the liberal arts
tradition.
The danger with the Chinese approach is
that if you don’t expose students to other disciplines and encourage critical
thinking, they may lack the breadth to blossom into creative problem-solvers
and risk takers. However, the U.S. system has some severe deficits of its
own. A recent U.S. Department of Commerce report, for example, highlights a
growing gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
Notably, immigrants are the ones filling the education gap – half the start-ups
in Silicon Valley were founded by immigrants.
Sure, the Chinese model of innovation needs
plenty of work, but in many ways China is also learning from the U.S. and
following in our early footsteps. As China moves up the curve and adds the
uniqueness of its own experience and approach, it may create a new hybrid model
that has lessons for other nations, including the United States.
Remember, it’s true that the global
positioning system is a product of the U.S. Department of Defense. But the
Chinese were the ones who gave us the compass in the first place.
