China Has Grown into a Strong Sci-tech Nation with Significant Global Influence

China has always attached great importance to the role of innovation in its overall development and has regarded self-reliance and strength in science and technology as a strategic pillar of national development. It has gradually realized a historic shift from trailing the pack in innovation to keeping pace and even leading in some fields. Our country has grown into a strong sci-tech nation with significant global influence.

The inputs for sci-tech innovation have been increased, and the national innovation system has been strengthened 

In the early years of the PRC, our scientific and technological capabilities were weak. However, through the steady implementation of strategies focused on issues such as invigorating China through science and education, sci-tech development has flourished. In 2023, China’s R&D expenditures exceeded 3.3 trillion yuan. Since 2013, it has been the world’s second-largest R&D investor, with the total spending reaching 2.64% of GDP, exceeding the average of EU countries. The full-time equivalent of R&D personnel has reached 7.24 million per year, 9.7 times higher than in 1991.

By the end of 2023, China had the largest number of the world’s top 100 innovative sci-tech clusters, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index. The number of high-tech enterprises has exceeded 460,000.

A steady stream of sci-tech innovations has continued to emerge, with the quality and quantity of outputs both rising 

Facing technical difficulties and an international blockade in the early days of the PRC, China was able to secure a number of pioneering achievements through arduous efforts. These are best represented by the development of an atomic bomb, guided missile, and artificial satellites—accomplishments that inspired the entire nation.

Following the launch of reform and opening up, and especially since 2012, we have worked to advance the reform of the sci-tech system, underscoring the leading role of innovation. New breakthroughs have been made in areas such as manned spaceflight, lunar and Martian exploration, deep sea and deep earth probes, supercomputers, quantum information, and airliner manufacturing.

China’s ranking on the Global Innovation Index rose from 34th place in 2012 to 12th place in 2023. China also leads the world in terms of the number of patent applications as well as international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

New drivers and strengths have been cultivated and enhanced, and the development of new quality productive forces has been accelerated

Since 2012, China has made faster progress in creating new growth drivers and strengths. As a result, new productive forces have emerged, serving as a powerful driver and support for high-quality development. From 2013 to 2023, the added value of large equipment manufacturers and high-tech manufacturers grew at average annual rates of 8.7% and 10.3%, respectively.

By the end of 2023, China had cultivated 421 national-level demonstration factories for smart manufacturing and over 10,000 provincial-level digital workshops and smart factories. Our digital economy has ranked second globally in terms of size for several years running. In 2023, the value added of new industries, new forms of business, and new business models accounted for 17.73% of GDP, 2.4 percentage points higher than in 2016.

Editor: Yi Xiaowei

(Excerpts from “Opening a New Chapter After 75 Years of Development” by the CPC Leadership Group of the National Bureau of Statistics, Qiushi Journal, English edition, No. 6, 2024)