China has great potential in engineering: former BP chief

"So at this stage, there will be breakthroughs. The more people discover, the more things will happen," Browne says.

He says the competitive costs of Chinese-manufactured products and solutions are a great advantage for Chinese engineering, as they have greater accessibility for consumers.

"I think great engineering is something that works at the right cost, and is reliable. I think one big advantage in China is the scale of the market, in allowing people to experiment, innovate and learn very quickly, and also to reduce costs through economies of scale," Browne says.

Browne says that he first went to China in the late 1970s, as a part of a business delegation, and witnessed the massive changes in the country over the years, both in terms of its economic growth and level of internationalization.

"It was a very different place. I remember there were so few white people in China, that people would stare at you. There were lots of bicycles and everyone dressed up the same," he says.

Visiting China nowadays is very different in comparison, Browne says, and he attributes the great changes in China to the great aspirations that Chinese people hold within themselves.

"Chinese people have aspirations. They want to do better than their parents, they want to create a different life, but they want to do it in the Chinese way," he says.

And with this mindset, Browne feels confident that China will one day produce globally celebrated engineers.

"China compares itself with the rest of the world, and there is nothing like comparison to drive people forward," he says.