– to further investments in research & development

By Samuel Sukhnandan in Beijing
AS part of China’s endeavours to promote high-quality development and improve its competitiveness, the government has embarked on an ambitious and comprehensive plan to build a stronger digital economy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to make continuous efforts to build on the work that had already started in improving systems for science and technology when he addressed the opening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The Chinese leader said that “innovation will remain at the heart of China’s modernisation drive” and that the country will improve the new system for mobilising resources nationwide to make key technological breakthroughs.

“We will boost China’s strength in strategic science and technology, better allocate innovation resources, and better define the roles of high-tech enterprises. We will ensure better strategic input from the [sector], so as to boost China’s innovation systems,” he said.

President Xi also talked about support for artificial intelligence and new energy sectors, describing them as new engines of future growth for the world’s second-largest economy.
He also stressed the need for the integrated development of strategic, emerging industries and the expansion of a new set of growth engines that include biotech, new materials, state-of-the-art machinery, and environmentally-friendly products.

China, according to President Xi, is still on its way to fostering a “new kind of industrialization” and becoming a powerful nation in manufacturing, high-quality goods, space exploration, transportation, cyberspace, and digitization.

Additionally, the Chinese President said, “Setting our sights on the global frontiers of science and technology, national economic development, the major needs of the country, and the health and safety of the people, we should speed up efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology.”

Investments
Meanwhile, a member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal CPC Committee, Mr. Zhao Lei, said in an interview on Tuesday that the country’s capital city has been increasing investment in technology, especially in research and development.

He told dozens of journalists covering the congress that investment in research and development had reached 6.53 per cent, which is far ahead in the country and higher than the level of most developed countries.
He remarked, “It can be said that in recent years, we have spared no expense to play a big chess game in the layout of scientific and technological productivity.”

Further, Mr. Lei told the domestic and international media that Beijing has also increased investment in the construction of benchmark cities for the digital economy.
“Judging from last year’s statistics, our digital economy accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total economy, which is far ahead in the country. We will seize this general trend, seize the pulse of the times, and vigorously build a benchmark city for the digital economy,” he continued.

Earlier this year, the Chinese government published a major plan to boost its global competitiveness in the digital economy by 2025.
The 14th five-year plan on the “digital economy,” published by China’s State Council in January, is broad in scope, covering everything from communications to e-commerce.

It will serve as a critical force in reorganising global resources, reshaping global economic structures, and altering the global competitive landscape.
(Reporting courtesy of NCN Editor, Samuel Sukhnandan who is currently in Beijing on a China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC) 2022 Fellowship at the invitation of the China Public Diplomacy Association)