BEIJING, March 8 – As highlighted by President Xi Jinping during the “two sessions,” sci-tech innovation has been pivotal in advancing modernization and high-quality development in China . China has achieved significant progress in promoting innovation in various sectors such as clean energy production, R&D spending, and regional development strategies, as part of its efforts to pursue coordinated, green, open, and shared growth.
As he met with his colleagues from the Jiangsu Province delegation during the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, General Secretary Xi Jinping of the Communist Party of China stressed the need for China to explore new avenues and methods for development to succeed amidst intense global competition. Xi emphasized that the country’s reliance on sci-tech innovation is fundamental in cultivating new growth drivers and strengths.
SMARTER MANUFACTURING
As China pursues high-quality economic development, the manufacturing industry is a top priority. The CPC’s 20th National Congress stressed prioritizing the real economy and advancing greener, smarter, and higher-end manufacturing.At Honor Device Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen, automation equipment handles 75% of assembly line processes, and key equipment is 100% numerically controlled, revolutionizing manufacturing through digital transformation. Song Yiwen, president of the supply chain management department of China , highlights the digital platform’s role in tracking and managing product quality throughout the production process to enhance production efficiency and quality in China.
GREENER DEVELOPMENT
As China strives for better quality development, it has reduced its energy intensity and carbon emissions through the development of a green, low-carbon, and circular economic system. This includes efforts to promote clean production, the energy revolution, and coordination between economic development and environmental protection. According to a white paper released by the State Council Information Office, China planted 64 million hectares of trees, prevented desertification and controlled over 18.53 million hectares of land, and restored over 800,000 hectares of wetland between 2012 to 2021. The country has also increased the proportion of clean energy sources in its total energy consumption from 14.5% in 2012 to 25.5% by the end of 2021, while reducing coal usage from 68.5% to 56%. With the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 and peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, China is transitioning traditional chemical industries to greener alternatives.
MODERN AGRICULTURE
With only 9 percent of the world’s arable land, China feeds nearly one-fifth of the global population. According to Xi, agricultural development is the foundation for building a modern socialist country, and promoting agricultural modernization is essential to achieve high-quality development in China.
In the past 10 years, China has made significant progress in agricultural mechanization, smart agriculture, and rural e-commerce. Hong Liangzhong, a farmer from Lingao village in Hainan Province, has benefited from the use of biological technology to control pests and diseases, resulting in a shorter planting cycle, increased yields, and reduced pesticide use. This knowledge was gained through the “doctor village chief” initiative, where 122 doctors from various institutions transformed the latest research findings into practical applications in Yazhou. The Yazhou seed laboratory has established a public scientific research platform to explore new national-level agricultural sci-tech innovation models.
REGIONAL COORDINATION
In recent years, China has unveiled multiple plans to facilitate regional development, such as plans for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the development of the Yangtze Economic Belt, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.
In-depth implementation of coordinated regional development strategies has provided a driving engine and a model path for China’s modernization drive.
Located in Guangming Science City in Shenzhen, the large scientific facility for synthetic biology is under intense assembly. With a total investment of nearly 1 billion yuan (about 144 million U.S. dollars), the facility to be partially put into use this year can provide an intelligent and engineered platform for synthetic biology research. The facility will attract global researchers to carry out sci-tech innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), said Liu Chenli, chief scientist of the facility