Different exams different approaches

I have recently been looking at the International "O" level exam for chemistry. Yes, maths is involved in chemistry too. This is the exam that children are expected to take at the age of 16, the same age as children take the GCSE exam in the UK. Of particular interest to me were the calculations regarding the number of moles. In the UK's exam the pupils are given a chemical equation. They are told the weights of reagents (or concentrations and volumes of any solutions used) and asked to find the quantity of product. All very straightforward.
For the International "O" level, which is taken in places like Singapore and Hong Kong, the pupil has to know the chemical formulae for the reagents, be able to put them into a chemical equation and balance that equation, do the moles calculation (which is identical to the GCSE calculation), and then draw a conclusion from the numerical result of that calculation. Basically this is 4 separate GCSE questions all concatenated. These 4 questions are not signposted for the pupil as separate parts of the question, the pupils have to know the route through the problem themselves.
The skills needed to do the "O" level question are all maths skills. Maths reasoning is needed to determine the chemical formulae of compounds. Maths skills are needed to balance the chemical equation, and maths skills are needed to do a moles calculation and draw a quantative conclusion. Are we saying that in the west are children are unable to do the "O" level type question because they lack mathematical ability, and have to be fobbed off with the GCSE question?
I would suggest that the "O" level question more closely represents the skills that an employer would want from a laboratory technician, than does the GCSE, which at best demonstrates a partial ability.
Globalisation means that the western nations are competing head on with the likes of Hong Kong and Singapore. But how will our children be able to compete if they are not equipped at school with the knowledge the need? Are we letting our children down?