I don't know. Japanese electronics also started as cheap knockoffs of Western devices, and they've improved. Chinese electronic brands are still questionable after a few decades.
The Japanese strategy (or culture) seems to be about improving quality over time, while Chinese business strategy is to stay as cheap as possible.
The questionable brands like... Anker, DJI, TCL? I mean, at least let's give them credit where credit is due, they've improved in quality for the past couple of decades. Even BYD itself, a decade ago wasn't not even close to be as good as it is right now.
> The questionable brands like... Anker, DJI, TCL? I mean, at least let's give them credit where credit is due
I'm not saying they are all bad, but the quality and brand recognition is all over the place. They haven't produced a Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic JVC, AKAI, etc yet.
Sorry, but I don't get your point. All three I mentioned are in top 10 of their respective markets. North America is not always their main market target, as it's hard to beat the incumbents, especially when you consider tariffs. Think something like, I've almost never seen anyone using Xiaomi/OPPO phones in North America, but have noticed people using them in Taiwan/Singapore, where the price isn't the only reason why someone would buy them.
That being said, a bit more relevant market segment - bus manufacturing, is also full of Chinese companies that are producing those big boys left and right. They're even opening (opened? haven't kept up with the news) a BYD plant here in Canada.
Writing this makes me feel like I'm going full on Chinese-shilling, but I enjoy competitive markets and reading about them. You're right that brand names are definitely not as recognized as Sharp/Panasonic, but I think our age shows a bit here. I don't think younger people have heard of Sharp or JVC as they're not common household names anymore, but I can guarantee anyone who has ever thought of buying a drone has heard of DJI.
The Japanese strategy (or culture) seems to be about improving quality over time, while Chinese business strategy is to stay as cheap as possible.