To me, the impressive thing the China has done is making the technology ubiquitous and commercially successful within China. As a software developer, I don't see a lot of magic in writing applications. I feel confident that I could write a WeChat or a mobile payments platform given enough time. But to convince hundreds of millions of people or thousands of retailers to use it? That is beyond my comprehension.

When I hear about technological prowess, I am expecting things like rockets that land on barges, self driving cars, and even block chains. Not web apps and mobile apps.

China has enough of the pieces in place that I wouldn't be surprised to see some innovations soon that would impress me. But it just hasn't happened yet.