UK probably made that mistake first by moving lots of manufacturing to their colonies, like North America and later the US. The UK said the same thing the western world said about China: they built low-level low-quality stuff, and we focused on the high-value manufacturing. But guess what? Smart people are everywhere, and ambitious people will not build "low-quality stuff" forever. Sooner or later, those who sweat on factory floors will have more know-how than those who enjoy draw boxes in a cushy office. Indeed, those who know only how to draw boxes will soon find that even their boxes, no matter how pretty, will not be relevant.