A focus of Summer Davos was China’s plan to become a ‘standards maker’ that increasingly writes the rules in key technology fields.

In a recent advertisement for a three-ton luxury SUV, British motoring expert, Richard Hammond, drives Xiaomi’s NIO ES9 at speed across rough cobblestones as smoothly as if he was on a paved freeway.

Innovative suspension solutions, hydraulically operated and coordinated with software, smooths out the ride faster than any comparable mechanical system. The cars are loaded with advanced features, all of which make them a smart car.

But more than smart. They are an intelligent car. The intelligence comes from the way the car applies its memory and communicates with others of its kind. It knows what’s coming on the road before you feel it. In addition, every bump, every pothole, every road hazard is recorded and uploaded in real time so that every other Xiaomi vehicle gets the same information at the same time.

It’s a type of gestalt, or group communication and learned reaction, so that other vehicles will know in advance what to expect of any section of road. And when the pot hole is repaired, then every other car will also know.

Smart products are the result of smart manufacturing, which rests on relentless innovation. The relationship between these forces is what drives innovation at scale. This is China’s advanced technology applied in the real economy. Investigate further and these vehicles provide another insight into China’s next chapter of economic development, which builds on innovation at scale, and........

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