For example, the Chinese lags in traditional car manufacturing techniques because they only have a few decades to accumulate experience on that front, but they are spearheading mass manufacturing electric vehicles at scale with efficiency rivalling anyone in the world.
DJI is the leading drone company globally. Chinese carmakers manufactured 47% of all plug-in EVs sold worldwide in 2017. [1] (Yes, with solid government support, but they are part of the system we're considering.)
They developed the first (and only, so far) AI to pass a medical licensing exam human doctors need to take. (If you thought it's just rote learning, it's not. Analysis is required.) [2]
Regarding creativity, please see the replies to this comment by people with first-hand experience in China. [3]
Blocking tech transfer will prompt China to intensify their efforts to develop their own technologies. With their scale, ambition, and work culture, it's not clear at all that technologies they develop in new fields, where no one has a head start, will be inferior to those created elsewhere in the world. The evidence so far largely refutes this hypothesis.
[1] https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/29/2017-china-electric-car...
[2] http://sites.ieee.org/futuredirections/2017/12/02/congrats-x...