Innovation drives China’s high-quality economic development
By He Yin, People’s Daily
China received about 1.6 million patent applications in 2022, ranking first in the world, according to the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2023 report recently issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
According to WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2023, China ranked 12th globally, with six indicators ranking first in the world. Besides, the 24 world-level science and technology clusters in China also for the first time made China the top in the world in the relevant ranking.
All these figures prove that China, which has joined the ranks of the world’s innovators, is still improving its capability in sci-tech innovation.
Innovation is the primary driving force behind development and the strategic underpinning for building a modernized economy.
Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economic recovery, China’s economy has rebounded and improved. The country is making solid progress in promoting high-quality development and advancing the construction of a modern industrial system. Furthermore, significant breakthroughs have been achieved in sci-tech innovation.
According to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics this August, the new kinetic energy index of China’s economic development (taking 2014 as 100) was 766.8 in 2022, up 28.4 percent from a year ago. The innovation-driven index was 336.3, an increase of 15.5 percent over the previous year. The knowledge capability index stood at 193.4, up 5.9 percent year-on-year.
China boasts the world’s largest talent pool with the most complete categories, with the total number of talent resources reaching 220 million. The number of R&D personnel is expected to surpass 6 million in 2022.
International observers said that China has continuously enhanced its capability in sci-tech innovation to support high-quality development, and promoted a virtuous cycle of academics, innovation, and production.
As innovation-driven development advances and sci-tech innovation continues to empower the real economy, new industries and new driving forces are constantly growing and expanding, thereby enhancing their role in driving economic growth.
From January to October this year, China’s investment in high-tech industries increased by 11.1 percent year-on-year, outpacing overall investment by 8.2 percentage points. The industrial added value of automobile manufacturing grew by 11.3 percent, while the figure in electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing increased by 13.6 percent, compared to the same period last year.
Innovation remains at the heart of China’s modernization drive. The innovation and commercialization of new technologies have become important driving forces for economic development.
Thanks to the innovation and application of advanced technologies, the Chinese economy has constantly opened up new fields and new tracks. A number of industries with long industrial chains, high technology content, and strong driving capabilities have accelerated their development. The rapid growth in China’s exports of new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products in recent years is clear proof of this.
China will continue to be an economy that creates huge opportunities for bilateral cooperation, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of the Republic of Singapore Lawrence Wong in Beijing. He noted that China boasts a huge economy with many advantages in areas such as advanced manufacturing and green economy, and also possesses a vast market.
Huge opportunities lie in China’s fertile ground for innovation. Unilever has established its Asian R&D center in north China’s Tianjin municipality; Schneider Electric has inaugurated its automation R&D center in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu province; Honeywell has chosen Shanghai as the location for its global automotive parts R&D center; Volkswagen has announced its plan to develop and produce electric vehicles at a new base in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province.
The Chinese market not only offers a large consumer base for multinational corporations, but also serves as a fertile ground for the incubation, roadshow, and promotion of new technologies and models.
More and more heads of multinational companies investing in China believe that many technological innovations originate from China first and then go to the rest of the world. China has become a breeding ground for large-scale application of emerging technologies.
China’s sci-tech innovation not only provides sustained momentum for its own economic growth, but also brings tangible development opportunities to the rest of the world.
China has established sci-tech cooperation with over 160 countries and regions, and signed 116 inter-governmental agreements on sci-tech cooperation, creating a new pattern of all-round, multi-level, and wide-ranging open cooperation in the field of science and technology.
China has also signed inter-governmental agreements on sci-tech cooperation with over 80 Belt and Road countries. Together, they have established more than 50 joint laboratories, built over 20 agricultural technology demonstration centers and some 70 overseas industrial parks.
Additionally, China has set up 10 overseas science and education cooperation centers and nine transnational technology transfer centers with relevant countries.
Denis Simon, a distinguished fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies, noted that China’s technological achievements are remarkable and playing an increasingly crucial role in the global innovation landscape. China has become an important participant in cutting-edge innovation on the international stage and a significant contributor to solving global challenges, Simon added.
China will continue to deeply implement the innovation-driven development strategy, integrate sci-tech innovation resources, lead the development of strategic emerging industries and future industries, accelerate the formation of new productive forces, and stimulate stronger advantages and momentum, so as to drive high-quality economic development with innovation.
以创新之力推动中国经济高质量发展
人民日报和音
世界知识产权组织近日发布的《世界知识产权指标报告》显示，2022年中国专利申请量约160万件，居世界第一。该组织此前发布的《2023年全球创新指数》显示，中国排名第十二位，其中6个指标排名世界第一；中国拥有24个全球顶级科技集群，在全球顶级科技集群排名中首次跃居世界第一。这些都说明，迈入创新型国家行列的中国，科技创新能力仍在继续提升。
创新是引领发展的第一动力，是建设现代化经济体系的战略支撑。在世界经济复苏乏力的背景下，中国经济回升向好，高质量发展扎实推进，现代化产业体系建设取得重要进展，科技创新实现新的突破。中国国家统计局今年8月发布的数据显示，2022年中国经济发展新动能指数为766.8，比上年增长28.4%。从主要构成指标看，创新驱动指数为336.3，比上年增长15.5%；知识能力指数为193.4，比上年增长5.9%。中国已成为全球规模最宏大、门类最齐全的人才资源大国，人才资源总量达到2.2亿人，2022年研发人员总量预计超过600万人年。国际人士认为，中国不断提升科技创新能力，以科技创新支撑高质量发展，推动学术、创新和生产形成良性循环。
随着创新驱动深入推进，科技创新持续赋能实体经济，新产业新动能不断发展壮大，对经济增长的带动作用提升。今年1—10月，中国高技术产业投资同比增长11.1%，快于全部投资8.2个百分点；汽车制造业、电气机械和器材制造业工业增加值同比增长11.3%、13.6%。中国坚持创新在现代化建设全局中的核心地位，新技术的创新与商业化成为经济运行的重要驱动力。得益于先进技术的创新和应用，中国经济发展的新领域新赛道不断开辟，一批产业链条长、技术含量高、带动能力强的行业加快发展。近年来，中国新能源汽车、锂电池、光伏产品“新三样”出口快速增长即是明证。
“中国将继续是一个能为双边合作提供巨大机会的经济体。”新加坡副总理兼财政部长黄循财日前在北京表示，中国经济规模巨大，在先进制造、绿色经济等领域有很多优势，还拥有巨大的市场。巨大机会，厚植于中国崇尚创新的沃土之中。联合利华在天津设立亚洲研发中心，施耐德电气中国自动化研发中心在无锡启用，霍尼韦尔公司汽车零部件的全球研发中心设在上海，大众汽车宣布将在合肥的新基地开发电动汽车并进行生产……中国市场不仅是跨国公司竞逐的大市场，也成为新技术和新模式的孵化器、路演区和展示推广平台。越来越多在华投资的跨国企业负责人认为，很多科技创新都来自中国，随后扩展到全世界，中国是推动新兴技术超大规模应用的热土。
中国的科技创新不仅为本国经济增长提供持久动力，也为世界带来实实在在的发展机遇。中国与160多个国家和地区建立科技合作关系，签订了116个政府间科技合作协定，构建起全方位、多层次、广领域的科技开放合作新格局。中国与80多个“一带一路”共建国家签署政府间科技合作协定，共建50多家“一带一路”联合实验室，在共建国家建成20多个农业技术示范中心和70多个海外产业园，建立10个海外科教合作中心，建设9个跨国技术转移中心。美国中美研究中心特聘研究员丹尼斯•西蒙认为，中国的科技成就举世瞩目，在全球创新版图中日益发挥着重要作用，成为国际前沿创新的重要参与者、解决全球性问题的重要贡献者。
中国将继续深入实施创新驱动发展战略，整合科技创新资源，引领发展战略性新兴产业和未来产业，加快形成新质生产力，激发出更强劲的优势与动能，以创新之力推动经济高质
