However, the vast majority of those Chinese patents (98%) were filed by Chinese inventors at the Chinese patent authority and only the Chinese patent authority.

FORBES: Who Is Best Poised To Lead The Clean Energy Revolution?

It is too early to tell whether the Chinese aviation authority's warning of cutbacks, delivery deferrals and even cancellations will seriously hurt Europe's flagship plane-maker Airbus.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Foreign patent applications cite Chinese patents in authority.

FORBES: What Life Will be Like in a China-Run Neighborhood

Others detect the start of a trend whereby Chinese car manufacturers will assert greater authority over their Western and Japanese partners.

ECONOMIST: Three deals signal the way forward for the car industry

One of the big unknowns in China is how Chinese born after economic reforms began in 1978 will respond to government authority as they move into the workforce.

FORBES: China's Youth: Labor Activists?

"The affluent male customer in the Chinese mainland is looking for a wardrobe that can reflect his ambitions, authority and achievements, " Fung says.

FORBES

Another problem is certification: China's civil aviation authority would have to be officially recognised by its American and European counterparts before Chinese aircraft could be exported to America or Europe.

ECONOMIST: Aviation in China

KPMG's Chinese walls were not sufficiently strong to enable it to take on a case for the Brunei Investment Authority, having previously been employed as a forensic accountant by Prince Jefri, a former chairman of the authority, and the sultan's younger brother.

ECONOMIST: Accountants and lawyers