China isn't a communist country, it's first and foremost authoritarian. They do have ruthless capitalism, and the ruthless competition in between individuals that comes with it.
They inherit from confucianism, and a more collectivist mindset that is prevalent in this area of the planet, but I don't think it should be conflated with the way the economy is organised.
The Japanese on the other hand are overall conformist and conservative.
With just these counter examples, it doesn't feel like you're looking at the right variables to judge whether innovation is embedded in the culture or not.
> China isn't a communist country, it's first and foremost authoritarian.
So are all “communist” countries. Communism (either Marxist or more generally) as a whole isn’t authoritarian, but all “communist” countries are products of Leninism or its derivatives, which definitely are, fundamentally, authoritarian.
That communism always ended up in authoritarian regimes isn't relevant to what I'm referring to. We generally oppose communism to say capitalism or liberalism for organising the economy and authoritarianism to democracy for organising governance.
There is a few essential properties of a "communist" system that modern China doesn't have. Most of the capital is privately owned, the social safety net is very poor, etc.
They inherit from confucianism, and a more collectivist mindset that is prevalent in this area of the planet, but I don't think it should be conflated with the way the economy is organised.
The Japanese on the other hand are overall conformist and conservative.
With just these counter examples, it doesn't feel like you're looking at the right variables to judge whether innovation is embedded in the culture or not.