Why is technological innovation important for China’s high-quality development? | So Good News

Editor’s note: The week-long 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China ended on October 22, and a plan for China’s development in the next five years and beyond was drawn up. CGTN publishes a special series, How China Works – Shaping the Future, which delves into the keynote speech passed by Congress to see how the country can meet its goals and objectives on the new path of a new era.

According to the report, Xi Jinping’s speech at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) identified high-quality development as a top priority, and for this, self-confidence and strength in science and technology are essential. .

In the report, it was clearly stated that in order to build a modern socialist country in all respects, China aims first at high-quality development.

“There are many obstacles to high-quality development, and China’s capacity for scientific and technological innovation is not yet strong enough,” the report said.

A key aspect of high-quality development is making its industrial and supply chain more flexible and secure, the report says. China’s industrial and supply chain has faced some challenges in the past few years amid the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions.

“We must work faster to transform the growth model, make economic growth based on innovation, and work hard for better quality, more efficient and reliable growth drivers through reforms to raise the quality and level of development,” Mu Hong said. , deputy chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner, at a press conference in Beijing on October 24 explaining the report.

Historical progress in the last decade

Over the past decade, China’s economic and technological strength has grown significantly, consolidating its position as the world’s second largest economy, Mu said.

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow from 54 trillion yuan in 2012 to 114 trillion yuan ($17.9 trillion) in 2021, an increase of 7.2 percentage points, accounting for 18.5 percent of the global economy. Its per capita gross domestic product increased from 39,800 yuan to 81,000 yuan.

The country has accelerated efforts to build self-sufficiency and strength in science and technology, with national research and development spending rising from 1 trillion yuan to 2.8 trillion yuan, the second highest in the world.

In 2021, a country’s R&D spending intensity, or its R&D spending as a percentage of GDP, increased to 2.44 percent. This figure is higher than 1.91 percent in 2012, surpassing developing countries and higher than the European Union average.

China’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index rose from 34th in 2012 to 11th in 2022.

The country is also involved in manned spaceflight, lunar and Mars exploration, deep sea and land exploration, supercomputers, satellite navigation, quantum information, nuclear power technology, new energy technology, airliner manufacturing, and biomedicine.

For example, in 2021, China’s domestic BeiDou navigation satellite system (BDS)-related industries will reach 469 billion yuan, and there will be more than 1 billion terminal devices with BDS positioning services.

China’s first self-built large passenger jet, the C919, received an airworthiness certificate from the country’s aviation regulator in September, with the first aircraft due to be delivered by the end of this year.

Future goals

Looking ahead, the CCP aims to significantly increase China’s economic power, scientific and technological capabilities and national power by 2035, the report said.

By this time, China’s GDP per capita will be equal to that of middle-level developed countries, and the country will be among the most innovative countries in the world, with great confidence and strength in science and technology. reported.

In the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), which is China’s economic and social development plan, the country has set a goal of increasing R&D spending by more than 7 percent every year.

In addition, China aims to increase the value added of strategic emerging industries to more than 17 percent of GDP by 2025. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, this share will be 13.4 percent in 2021.

“GDP growth should no longer be taken as the sole criterion for evaluating performance,” Mu said.

Instead, China will pursue high-quality development, with innovation as the main driving force, he said, adding that the country will improve a new nationwide resource mobilization system to make major technological breakthroughs and increase China’s strength in strategic science and technology.