In 2015, GoPro sold about 6.6 million cameras and controlled more than 70% of the action camera market. Ten years later, the company that taught the world to strap a camera to a helmet was pulled back from bankruptcy in September, after failed product bets and the rise of smartphone cameras had already weakened it. Its two main rivals, DJI and Insta360, entered the market only in 2019 and 2021, yet together they now account for more than 90% of global smart handheld camera sales.

Alexander Hannemann, who films his motorcycle rides, switched to Insta360 about two years ago. He says the footage stays sharper even at 80 kilometers per hour in a corner. GoPro's decline is far from an isolated case. Since around 2010, Chinese brands have caught up with, and frequently overtaken, once-dominant Western companies in products ranging from smart TVs to robot vacuums.

BYD, Xpeng and other Chinese carmakers sold almost two-thirds of all electric cars last year, ahead of established players such as Tesla. In robot vacuums, Chinese brands lead the global market, while the American pioneer iRobot struggles to keep up. By one estimate, well over half of new consumer tech products worldwide now come from Chinese suppliers. Why?

Chris Pereira, a Canadian entrepreneur whose consultancy helps Chinese firms expand abroad, points to ferocious domestic competition in cities such as Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Shanghai, supply chains packed closely together, and a can-do culture that fixes problems fast.