China's innovation-driven growth gains momentum

Unmanned aerial vehicles are exhibited at the third Low Altitude (Suzhou) Industrial Innovation Ecosystem Conference and the 2025 Digital Low Altitude Conference held in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, June 27, 2025. [Photo by Zhang Feng/People's Daily Online]

On July 15, China released its economic performance data for the first half of 2025, reporting a GDP growth of 5.3 percent. This performance highlights the country's steady economic momentum and strong resilience amid external challenges.

A defining feature of this progress is the rapid emergence of new growth drivers. Regions nationwide have intensified efforts to integrate technological and industrial innovation, developing new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions. These emerging forces are propelling China's high-quality development.

Technological innovation - a core element in developing new quality productive forces - is a key engine for cultivating new industries, business models, and growth drivers. In recent years, China has vigorously pursued an innovation-driven development strategy, steadily enhancing its scientific and technological self-reliance. The country has now entered the ranks of innovation-driven economies, moving up from 34th in 2012 to 11th in 2024 in the Global Innovation Index.

Robotic arms work on a fully automated ceramics production line at a factory of a company in Fengcheng, east China's Jiangxi province. [Photo by Zhou Liang/People's Daily Online]

From robot-assisted marathons to drone spectacles and ubiquitous AI uses like DeepSeek, technological innovation now permeates Chinese society. These advances demonstrate technology's profound role in reshaping the nation's economic and social landscape.

In 2024, the added value of the country's new industries, new business formats and new business models accounted for 18 percent of the total GDP. As of June this year, the number of valid domestic invention patents had reached 5.01 million, an increase of 13.2 percent year on year.

This surge reflects a solid foundation in research and development (R&D). China's R&D expenditure reached nearly 2.7 percent of GDP, higher than the EU average and approaching the OECD average. The country leads the world in total R&D personnel and science and technology professionals, and it boasts the largest number of top 100 innovation clusters globally, with more than 460,000 high-tech companies.

This rich ecosystem of innovation is generating a continuous stream of transformative outcomes, laying the groundwork for the development of new quality productive forces. As Jeremy Jurgens, managing director of the World Economic Forum, noted, China's strong research institutions and abundant technological talent are key enablers of its innovation capacity.

China is also intensifying efforts to translate innovation into tangible economic gains by closely aligning technological innovation with industrial upgrading. Through revitalizing traditional sectors, fostering emerging industries, and investing in future industries, the country is generating new engines of high-quality development.

In the first half of this year, the value-added industrial output in high-tech manufacturing rose 9.5 percent year on year. From January to May, revenues of major enterprises in strategic emerging services grew by nearly 10 percent. China's core digital economy industries now contribute approximately 10 percent of GDP, a share on par with that of advanced economies.

At the same time, China's green development is becoming more efficient and impactful, reinforcing its global leadership in green transition. In response to rising global demand, Chinese foreign trade enterprises are scaling up the supply of green products. In the first half of the year, exports of lithium-ion batteries and wind turbines rose by more than 20 percent.

International cooperation opportunities are also expanding alongside these developments. With China's technological breakthroughs and large-scale application of renewable energy, global costs for wind and solar power have dropped by over 60 percent and 80 percent, respectively, over the past decade. China leads in generative AI development with over 38,000 patents filed from 2014 to 2023 - the world's highest - significantly advancing global AI capabilities.

A technician works in a laboratory of a biomedicine company southwest China's Chongqing municipality. [Photo by Qin Tingfu/People's Daily Online]

China is also rapidly expanding its footprint in the robotics industry. It became the world's second-largest exporter of industrial robots in 2024, and exports surged another 61.5 percent in the first half of this year. From cooking and cleaning to serving and entertainment, intelligent robots are increasingly enhancing the quality of life for consumers worldwide.

Bolstered by China's innovation ecosystem and business-friendly environment, multinationals are expanding their presence in the country. Schneider Electric has established a new innovation center in Beijing; Siemens Healthineers has broken ground on a new research, development and manufacturing base in Shenzhen; Airbus is deepening its cooperation with Chinese partners to promote sustainable aviation. China invites global businesses to invest, innovate, and thrive within its market - not only to seize opportunities in China, but also to share the dividends of global collaboration.

Partnership with China unlocks significant potential. The new quality productive forces emerging in China represent the future of advanced productivity. As China continues to push forward with innovation-driven development, it is poised to contribute even more energy and momentum to global development.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.