>>10864479The short answer is China plays by their rules; they'll do what's best for them and them alone. Modern China's industry is largely imitative rather than innovative, I mean "made in China" is synonymous with "cheap knock-off" for a reason. Until a few years ago the Chinese legos companies were steadily ticking upwards in popularity in the rest of the world thanks to increased access. Lego managed to win a stunning legal victory against a few of the big names (Lepin and Enlighten notably) over straight copies of their sets and the minifig design itself. I suspect it was less a matter of China grudgingly going along with international laws and more a case of Lego promising to increase manufacturing in China, plus the proliferation of China-pandering (Chinese New Year sets, Monkie Kid).
Can argue the proof of this cynical approach is the fact you can still buy all manner of minifigs using Lego's trademarked design, often of licensed content like movies and tv series. China doesn't care enough to do more than pay lip service; the sellers use various means to get around things by censoring their listings; Lego itself likely has settled for having their big win and has instead focused their lawfare bullying against third-party importers/resellers closer to home.
