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As I See It | Can China let its young tech innovators boldly go where no one has gone before?
- Beijing needs to unleash the creativity of its researchers if it is to close the technology gap with the West on its own
- The country has become very good at making products such as EVs but has neglected the basic science essential to the future
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It may not roll off the tongue but “new quality productive forces”, or xinzhishengchanli, was the buzzword at the weeklong gathering of lawmakers and political advisers that wrapped up on Monday in Beijing.
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According to the cabinet’s information office, the term describes a departure from the traditional growth engines of the economy towards innovative and sustainable development.
Under this banner, the government vowed to redouble efforts to support new industries such as electric vehicles, new materials, new drugs and the digital economy, as well as foster potential in areas of the future such as quantum technology and life sciences.
However, investment alone is not enough to realise these ambitions. China will need a large pool of talented, innovative people of its own to make up for sanctions and hostility from the West, particularly the United States.
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In decades past, China tried to close the technology gap by buying chips, acquiring core technologies, forming joint ventures, hiring professionals from overseas, or sending students to study abroad.
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