The Japanese copied anything and everything they could make cheaper and sell to the world market. It was called a 'Japanese copy' long before the center of cheap imitations shifted to China.
Trouble was, the Japanese eventually got to where their 'copies' were actually quality merchandise.
They were sought out to produce copies of famous firearms when the work got too expensive to do in America and Europe. Thus the Miroku Brownings, the Parker repros, and the Model 12.
The Chinese have a way to go yet, but I have no doubt they will get there.
To add to Jonesy's comment, as everyone knows, the Japanese not only made copies that were quality, they made products that were leaders in markets in their own right.
As to the Chinese, they are coming on at twice the speed the Japanese did. They are throttling back some just to keep from imploding. But they are already a marketing world power in just 3 decades of trade. I've been there once and have hosted their aviation authority a couple times, I'll see them very soon, and they visit us regularly, more for "how goes it" than anything. The point is, they are keeping a presence in the U.S. for it's potential. They buy huge numbers of commercial aircraft from the U.S. and the EU and other products.
