Innovation will be key policy focus

Promoting innovation through opening-up will be a key policy focus during an upcoming vital reform meeting, with greater international tech cooperation widely seen as crucial for China to nurture new growth drivers and share fresh opportunities with the rest of the world, experts and corporate executives said.

New measures could include expanding global cooperation in scientific research and encouraging enterprises to play a major role in tackling technological bottlenecks, they added.

The third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee is scheduled to be held in Beijing from July 15 to 18 to map out new economic reforms.

The experts' and executives' comments came after President Xi Jinping called for efforts to foster a globally competitive, open environment for scientific and technological innovation, saying that it is important to insist on promoting innovation through opening-up.

Xi made the remarks when presiding over the fifth meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform of the 20th CPC Central Committee in June. He is head of the commission.

Wang Zhigang, a member of the Standing Committee of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said, "It is of utmost importance to leverage openness to stimulate vitality and expand international cooperation in science and technology despite external headwinds."

Wang, who is also a former minister of science and technology, said that integrating with the global innovation network using a proactive approach would help to attract top global talent and foster a competitive, open innovation ecosystem.

"More efforts are needed to build international and regional science and technology innovation centers, which could become pioneers in scientific progress and drive the development of new quality productive forces," Wang added.

Xue Lan, dean of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University, said that no country can become a great innovative nation in isolation.

"Even amid stringent tech restrictions by the United States, China should not isolate itself, but rather integrate more actively into the global innovation system to avoid severe disruptions in the global industrial chain," Xue said.

"As China holds a very important position in the global industrial chain, we must continue to innovate and open up to strengthen this position," he added.

Denis Depoux, global managing director of market consultancy Roland Berger, said that China has emerged as a strong player in the global landscape of research and development. For instance, the country has the world's largest number of patent applications, and its research and development spending exceeded 3.3 trillion yuan ($454 billion) in 2023, second only to the US.

"But innovation needs international exchanges and serendipity, not only money," Depoux said. "To become a true innovation-driven country, China needs to become an enabler of R&D driven by universities, public institutions, and companies, not only in China but also globally."

According to Depoux, that will be the key to growing China's total factor productivity, an indicator that measures the efficiency of production. To that end, multiple levers can be activated, such as launching venture capital funds for global startups, globally scaling China's startups, and encouraging Chinese companies to establish global R&D centers.

"China can continue to take an inclusive approach to science and technology with emerging countries and the Global South. By fostering mutually beneficial partnerships and promoting sustainable technological advancements, China can contribute to the overall development and global integration of emerging nations," Depoux added.

Dou Xiankang, head of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, also emphasized the need to actively participate in global scientific governance.

According to Dou, international scientific and technological cooperation is an inevitable trend, and fundamental research serves as an important channel for promoting such cooperation.

Denis Simon, president of the Alliance of Global Talent Organizations, said that greater global cooperation in industrial innovation is needed to address the challenges that the world is facing.

China has a mix of expertise and experience, and it can bring speed to the market, as seen in electric vehicles and renewable energy, Simon said, adding that deeper international cooperation, rather than protectionism, is vital for the world to cope with climate change.

Luo Zhongwei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Industrial Economics, said that Chinese enterprises should also expand cooperation with their foreign counterparts in fields such as artificial intelligence, life sciences, green energy, and advanced manufacturing, in order to enhance their competitiveness on the global stage.

Luo said that China's emphasis on fostering a globally competitive, open environment for scientific and technological innovation will create enormous opportunities for multinational corporations to invest in the country and inject strong momentum into global economic recovery.

Frank Meng, chairman of Qualcomm China, said, "Chinese enterprises have actively integrated themselves into the overall landscape of global technological innovation, which has created even broader opportunities for collaboration with companies like Qualcomm."

According to Meng, the US chip company has "consistently considered China as a pivotal business partner and valued customer, viewing it as more than just a market or a link in the supply chain".