Chinese innovation is nothing new

Despite the developments within the electronics industry, few Chinese brands are known abroad. China tends to be a powerhouse were foreign ideas are shipped in and made reality; homegrown innovation is not common at the moment.

However, China has been a hotbed of innovation in the past and Chinese manufacturers hope President Hu Jintao's recent speech will encourage further developments.

To show how much of an innovator China was in the past, below is a select list of key Chinese inventions, and their date.

Acupuncture (580 BC)
Anatomy (11th Century AD)
Axial rudder (1st Century AD)
Ball bearings (2nd Century BC)
Belt drive (5th Century BC)
Blast Furnace (3rd Century BC)
Calipers (AD 9)
Camera Obscura, explanation of (AD 1086)
Cast iron (5th Century BC)
Chain drive (AD 976)
Chess (4th Century BC)
Compass, magnetic Needle (AD 1088)
Crossbow (5th Century BC)
Dating of trees by number of rings (12th Century AD)
Dominoes (AD 1120)
Draw loom (1st Century AD)
Fertilizers (2nd Century BC)
Firecrackers (AD 290)
Folding chairs (3rd Century AD)
Grafting (AD 806)
Gunpowder (12th Century AD)
Handgun (AD 1128)
Kite (4th Century BC)
Lacquer (13th Century BC)
Maps, relief (AD 1086)
Paper, invention of (300 BC)
Toilet paper (AD 589)
Parachute principle (8th Century AD)
Playing cards (AD 969)
Reel on fishing rod (3rd Century AD) 
Rotary fan (1st Century BC)
Seawalls (AD 80)
Sterilization by steaming (AD 980)
Stirrup (AD 300)
Toothbrush (9th Century AD)
Vinegar (2nd Century BC)
Weather vane (120 BC)