How did China, once criticised for 'copying' Western technology, go on to innovate?

Perhaps because these are not splashier, fundamental breakthroughs, the West tends to discount China's high-tech achievements by ascribing them to copying or to protectionism. While these practices did give China's economy traction early on, they are no longer the primary drivers of Chinese innovation, for the simple reason that such cruder types of opportunities have already been fully exhausted. Instead, China is replete finding new ways to monetise their services, attract customers, and encourage them to buy, which is a good thing for a country with the world's highest saving rate and a global trade imbalance on the export side….