Commentary: China committed to high level of self-reliance, self-improvement

Aerial photo taken on May 23, 2018 shows the Luohu District of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.(Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

-- A tall tree grows from deep roots. It is self-reliance that has enabled China to stand firmly among nations of the world.

-- China has the confidence and capability to realize a high level of self-reliance and self-improvement.

BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- As the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, China is committed to realizing a high level of self-reliance and self-improvement, defined by the leadership as the most essential characteristic of China's new development paradigm.

It is a major strategic task for China's overall development to establish at a faster pace the new development pattern featuring "dual circulation," in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.

A tall tree grows from deep roots. It is self-reliance that has enabled China to stand firmly among nations of the world. China has learned from its experience that a country cannot ask, buy or beg for core technologies in key fields from other countries. Only by holding these technologies in its own hands can the country ensure economic security, national security and security in other areas.

The country has thus underscored independent innovations and the establishment of mechanisms that facilitate innovations and technological breakthroughs.

A high-speed train runs along the railway linking Yinchuan and Xi'an, in Huanxian County, northwest China's Gansu Province, Dec. 26, 2020. (Photo by Zhang Yongxin/Xinhua)

China has the confidence and capability to realize a high level of self-reliance and self-improvement. It has laid a solid foundation thanks to the unremitting endeavors in the past decades, especially since the reform and opening up.

According to the Munich-headquartered European Patent Office, China has the highest average growth rate in patents of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies, which concern smart connected objects, the Internet of Things, big data, 5G communication and artificial intelligence.

China's pursuit of self-reliance under its new development pattern, however, is not to close its doors but to be more involved in international cooperation. It will more actively integrate into the global innovation network and implement a strategy of international cooperation that is more open, inclusive and mutually beneficial.