@Wuerstchenhund : there is a lot of contradiction in what you are writing. My own experience with Chinese engineers is that while being clever they have very little understanding of the purpose of a product. Just do as being told but in that process the little details that make or break a product are lost.
This is certainly true but not different from a Western engineer starting to work on a product for a field he doesn't really know well. For example, while I understand EE and electrical engineering the intrinsics of a control system for a nuclear power plant would be beyond my current understanding.
And if you ever worked with the typical American worker then you'll find that while he's generally a good worker and tries to do his task to the best to his abilities, there often is very little interest in the big picture. Still, some of the best engineers I know are American.
AFAIK people in Russia and East Europe had a lot more freedom to read & learn whatever people liked so could develop themselves more broadly compared to the Chinese restrictive educational system which actively suppresses free thinking and creativity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_China"China has also become a top destination for international students. As of 2013, China is the most popular country in Asia for international students, and ranks third overall among countries. As of 2018, the country has the world's second highest number of top universities."
The problems in Chinese education are less in the quality of education, it's more to do that the system enacts extreme pressure on students. There is also a difference in quality between the universities in larger cities and those in rural areas, but the same can be said for most universities in Western countries, too.
Also, as someone else said, political oppression is rarely something which prevents people getting creative. China has a very rich culture in arts, music and movies, which would not be possible if they were these simple-minded drones they are described here.
Back to oscilloscopes: What is special about Rigol's ASIC and Siglent's features in the SDS5kX? AFAIK the Rigol ASIC is missing several basic features and AFAICS the Siglent SDS5kX doesn't have any feature you won't be able to find on an A-brand and in many cases the A-brand will have a more polished performance (be it at a higher price).
Rigol's ASIC is special because it's a sign of technological progress. And yes, the Phoenix ASIC might be imperfect but frankly if you look at something like the Keysight MegaZoom ASIC then it's not exactly wizardry, too, just a clever concept poured in hardware.
The other thing that's often ignored is that Rigol is doing more than just producing test equipment. They have been making high performance chromatography equipment for a long time (although I think this part has been sold on), for example the L-3000:
http://www.tlab.pl/tl_files/produkty/RIGOL/L-3000%20HPLC/HPLC2015-EN-MINI.pdfAs to Siglent, show me any comparable(!) MSO from any other brand which offers the same amount of memory sample, a similarly extensive range of trigger functions, can decently large FFTs (i.e. more than 1Mpts), decent math, lots of measurements, comes with very good Bode plot function, and a large display with a decent resolution?
None of the Keysight InfiniVision scopes fullfill this requirement (small memory, small FFT, limited math, limited trigger).
Tektronix MDO3000 doesn't, either (small memory, smaller FFT, limited trigger, no bode plot, no touch screen). And out of experience of owning one I can't even say it's more polished than the SDS5kX, in fact it's a lot worse.
R&S RTB2004? Nope. Smaller memory (and the full 160Mpts are only available in segmented mode), small FFT, limited measurements, math and triggers.
What else?