But, the ITIF found that China is using automation far more than expected based on what workers get paid in manufacturing, with 12½ times more robots in use than predicted – a big jump from 1.6 times more in 2017. In contrast, the United States uses only 70 per cent of the robots it should be using, given the wages paid to its manufacturing workers.

This should be an indicator that China’s economy really is different from ordinary capitalist economies. Of course, most people won’t care.

The rise of these start-ups has heralded significant cost advantages and efficiencies. The ITIF report cited Li Zexiang, a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology professor, who said: “People here [in Dongguan] can develop a new tech product five to 10 times faster than in Silicon Valley or Europe, at one-fifth or one-fourth the cost.”

Fully automated communism soon?