Sure, cutting-edge intellectual property these days is more complicated and unlikely to be completely and fully understood by a single person. That's a function of the progress of technology.
I don't see how one person, or one country, stealing IP via memorization (the technology of the 1800s) is meaningfully different from someone stealing IP on a USB stick (the technology of today).
The cost of labour and compliance with health and safety is the main factor.
Is it surprising the Chinese industrialist looks at the rate of profit for these goods sold in the USA and tries to copy them, and secure some of that gap between cost (of production) and price?
So now, thinking like a US consumer, which is better? The iPhone sold by Steve jobs, or the cheaper phone with stolen IPR? What if the stolen IPR is totally ephemeral and only about the GUI?