Special article: Why China Becomes an Innovative Country in Science and Technology | Innovation | Special article

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 21 (Xinhua) - Special Release: Why China Becomes an Innovative Power

Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoru

Gou Rixin, Rixin, and Rixin. Innovation is the primary driving force for development. At present, the world's unprecedented great changes are accelerating, and a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening, bringing enormous opportunities and challenges to the global economy.

Innovation is a powerful tool for breaking through the situation and opening up new paths, illuminating hope for the future. In recent years, China has seen a series of major innovative achievements emerging, promoting economic and social development and enhancing people's well-being, from building a dream of the Chinese space station into the sky to domestically produced large aircraft soaring in the blue sky, from high-speed rail flying over the land of China to 5G connecting the north and south. As Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States, said, accelerating China's innovative development is beneficial to China, developing countries, and the world.

Activate innovation system

If technology is established, the nation will be established, and if technology is strong, the country will be strong. Since ancient times, science and technology have been driving the development of human society forward. In a sense, technological strength determines the changes in the balance of world political and economic power, as well as the future and destiny of various countries and ethnic groups.

The Chinese nation is a nation full of innovative spirit. The ancients have long proposed that "although Zhou was an old state, its destiny was to maintain innovation" and "Heaven is in a healthy state, and gentlemen strive for self-improvement". In the process of over 5000 years of civilization development, the Chinese nation is renowned worldwide for its papermaking, gunpowder, printing, and compass. It has achieved fruitful results in various fields such as astronomy, medicine, and agriculture, and has had a profound impact and made tremendous contributions to the progress of world civilization.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that "if we grasp scientific and technological innovation, we will seize the bull nose that affects the overall development of our country." the fundamental way out lies in innovation, and the key depends on the strength of science and technology. "around scientific and technological innovation, we have put forward a series of groundbreaking and long-term policies to promote our country to move steadily towards the goal of building a powerful country in science and technology.

Implementing the innovation driven development strategy, issuing the National Innovation Driven Development Strategy Outline, proposing the strategic goal of "three steps" for scientific and technological innovation, and clarifying that the most essential feature of building a new development pattern is to achieve high-level self-reliance and self-improvement... The pace of scientific and technological innovation in China in the new era is strong and steady.

China leverages the significant advantage of its socialist system in concentrating efforts to accomplish major tasks, and promotes scientific and technological development through a new national system. A report released by the Australian Institute of Strategic Policy in March this year stated that China is currently in a leading position in 37 out of 44 "key technologies", covering areas such as space exploration, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

According to the latest Nature Index released in May this year, Chinese authors made the greatest contribution to high-quality natural science research in 2022, ranking first in terms of published papers in high-quality journals for the first time, surpassing the United States.

Previously, when discussing the reasons why China's scientific research has made continuous progress, Magdalena Skipper, the editor in chief of the British journal Nature, stated that China's long-term and sustained investment in scientific research, active participation in international cooperation, and vigorous development of education are important factors.

Cultivate innovative talents

Gather talents from all over the world and use them. Technology is the primary productive force, innovation is the primary driving force, and talent is the primary resource. The key to Chinese path to modernization is to achieve self-reliance in high-level science and technology, and ultimately rely on high-level innovative talents.

From the perspective of labor factors, China has 880 million people of working age, with an average age of 38.8 years old. The population receiving higher education reaches 240 million. In 2021, the average length of education for the working age population in China has increased to 10.9 years, and the total number of research and development personnel ranks first in the world. The new advantages of China's human resources are emerging.

In 2022, the newly revised and implemented "Science and Technology Progress Law of the People's Republic of China" proposes that the country accelerate the construction of strategic talent force, optimize the structure of scientific and technological talent team, and improve the training, discovery, introduction, use, and evaluation mechanism of innovative talents and teams such as strategic scientists and technology leaders.

According to data, the total number of R&D personnel in China in 2021 was 5.72 million person years, 1.8 times that of 2012, ranking first in the world. The number of R&D personnel per 10000 employed persons increased from 43 person years in 2012 to 77 person years. The number of highly cited scientists from mainland China has increased from 111 in 2014 to 1169 in 2022.

Cultivate a fertile ground for innovation

The main engine of China's manned lunar landing rocket has set a new record for a single test run time, the key evidence of the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves detected by the "China Eye" FAST, and the launch of China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian carrier... Driven by innovation, a series of "great power heavy weapons" have made stunning appearances, and multiple super projects are steadily advancing.

The 2022 Global Innovation Index released by the World Intellectual Property Organization shows that China has risen from 34th place in 2012 to 11th place. The World Intellectual Property Indicators report also shows that in 2021, China ranked first in the world in terms of the number of valid patents. Bloomberg commented that China has been focusing on achieving higher quality growth through technological innovation and industrial upgrading in the past decade, and these high-tech fields are creating more and higher value for the Chinese economy.

Fu Xiaolan, Director of the Technology and Management Development Research Center at the University of Oxford and Academician of the British Academy of Social Sciences, stated that the open national innovation system has enabled China to embark on a unique path of innovation, injecting new impetus into China's economic development over the past decade and setting an example for other countries. In the past decade, China has achieved breakthroughs in many innovative industries and fields, with remarkable achievements in artificial intelligence, aerospace technology, deep-sea exploration, and new energy technology, injecting new impetus into China's economic development.

Chinese hybrid rice technology helps Africa achieve food self-sufficiency, and the Indonesian Jakarta Bandung high-speed railway built by Chinese enterprises paves the way for local people's happiness... Science crosses national borders, and China is sharing technological innovation with the world.

Eyes full of vitality transforming into Jun, day workers skillfully striving for novelty. China, as a developing country with a population of over 1.4 billion, relies heavily on innovation to accelerate its development. Looking towards the future, China will work together with countries around the world to continuously advance along the path of innovation driven development, leaving a distinct Chinese mark in the global innovation landscape.