Rani Jarkas: China will become a leading power in science and technology

On an event conflating the national conference on science and technology, the biennial conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering in Beijing on May 30, 2016, President Xi Jinping set a target for China to become a leading power in science and technology by the middle of this century.

According to President Xi, China should establish itself as one of the most innovative countries by 2020 and a leading innovator by 2030, and become a leading global science and technology power by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2049.

This strategy aims to ensure China's decision-making power for its own development, improve its core competitiveness, accelerate adjustment of its development pattern, solve deep-rooted problems, better guide economic development in the "new normal," and maintain sustainable and healthy economic development.

In the past 30 years, about 30 percent of China's economic growth has been obtained from innovations. By contrast, developed countries derive 70 percent of their growth from innovations. Zhu Baoliang, a specialist in economic forecasting with the National Information Center, said China cannot continue to rely on human input for growth considering such demographic challenges as a rapidly aging society and a looming labor shortage.

Earlier this year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has promised more freedom and financial support for the science and technology sector as China seeks to boost development through innovation and establish itself as a world leader in this regard.

Premier Li told the event that China's overall research and development input will keep rising to account for 2.5 percent of its GDP in 2020, from the current 2.1 percent.


Rani Jarkas, Chairman of Cedrus Investments, an investment pioneer with years of experience in technology sector, said, “Innovation is an important force in promoting development of a country. I believe that China will be the world’s major power in science and technology in the foreseeable future.”