I suggest readers to draw their own conclusions from this article. To me, it does not make a convincing case that the scale of IP theft in 18th century USA is anywhere near as comprehensive as what is happening today in China.
And to me there is a big difference between the Government encouraging recruitment of those with knowledge through immigration vs a Government who IS the 'primary' stakeholder in all Corps + actively using state resources/agencies for theft.
Why would you compare the actions of a developing country 200 years ago working within that timeframe's norms to the actions of a developed country working within today's norms?
200 years ago, the behavoiur of the US was not consistant with the "norms" at the time. The UK had clear laws on this, and the US violated them. US leaders encouraged it.
How is this not the same as what China is doing now?
But it’s not the norm in China. If you are to decide what is normal, do you do this based on geography or population? Either way, China is a pretty big place.
https://www.apnews.com/b40414d22f2248428ce11ff36b88dc53