It is a lot like Japan was. You had the first round of post-war (post opening up - 90s) designs, some OK, some vague (or blatant) copies, some of odd proportion, then you had some help from foreign styling houses going into the 60s (00s), as well as some generally stronger design themes from the second generation of local designers, then you moved into taking exports seriously in to the 70s and 80s (10s), tie-ins with foreign companies, designers recruited from overseas, and your own designers going out into the world more to learn about the markets they were developing. This I think is the stage China is at, and the next stage (already commencing) is the growth of original yet globalized Chinese design language. Its been very interesting to watch it all unfold (with thanks to this forum among others).