> the Chinese don't use anything novel that has not been established in Western science already

Like they say: in theory, theory and practice are the same; in practice, they aren't.

It's all well and good to have knowledge of the techniques, or to even have published or created them. But applying them successfully, working out all the kinks, and streamlining everything to become profitable doesn't happen overnight.

I have no doubt alternate sources can exist, but not without significant time and effort.

I’m not sure that that aphorism is helpful, my experience with theory is that it includes time and effort considerations