BEIJING, May 29, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- On a sweltering Friday afternoon, cranes
periodically maneuvered over a massive construction site in
northwest Beijing's Haidian
district. Inside the walled-up site, trucks and machines roared,
though with very limited noise. At the first glance, this was just
a typical scene of major construction sites ubiquitous in many
places across China amid the rapid recovery of economic activities
following the country's decisive victory against the COVID-19
epidemic.
Yet, another busy scene just several meters across the street
from the construction site put into context the unique nature of
the project. Outside the Zhongguancun (ZGC) Exhibition Center,
police officers were busy guiding traffic and scores of people
wearing business attire and flashy badges lined up for security
checks under a large white tent. Inside the gate, a massive logo
showed unmistakably what was taking place: "2023 ZGC Forum."
The forum, first launched in 2007 in Zhongguancun, dubbed
China's "Silicon Valley," has become a state-level platform for
global scientific and technological (sci-tech) innovation exchanges
and cooperation. After 13 editions, the forum has garnered
considerable national and global influence and the country is
striving to further expand its scale and global profile. The
construction work across the street is for the permanent venue of
the ZGC Forum.
Development of both Zhongguancun and the ZGC Forum has been at
the forefront of China's robust, intensifying efforts, under the
leadership of President Xi Jinping, to enhance sci-tech innovation
capabilities and bolster sci-tech self-reliance and strength so as
to foster new growth drivers and new strengths in face of fierce
international competition.
Xi attaches great importance to sci-tech innovation. A book of
his discourses on sci-tech self-reliance and strength has recently
been published, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday. The book
contains 50 relevant discourses by Xi, some of which were published
for the first time, according to Xinhua.
From 'China's Silicon Valley' to 'Global ZGC'
On Thursday night, Xi sent a congratulatory letter to the 2023
ZGC Forum. He stressed that Beijing should fully leverage its strengths in
education, science, technologies and talent, coordinate sci-tech
and institutional innovation, continue to promote pilot reforms in
Zhongguancun, further accelerate the construction of a
world-leading sci-tech park, and strive to take the lead in the
innovation of cutting-edge technologies and the development of
advanced and sophisticated industries.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
Central Committee, has attached great importance to the forum as
well as Zhongguancun. In September
2013, led by Xi, members of the Political Bureau of the CPC
Central Committee visited the Zhongguancun Science Park and held a
group study, the first time such a study has been held outside the
central authority's seat at Zhongnanhai.
Presiding over the group study, Xi stressed importance of
science and technology in enhancing national strength. "We must
enhance awareness of unexpected challenges and grab the opportunity
of the science and technology revolution. We cannot wait, hesitate
or slack," Xi said.
In 2019, Xi sent a congratulatory letter to the 2019 ZGC Forum,
saying that with the accelerating new round of sci-tech revolution
and industrial transformation, innovation, development and
cooperation with win-win results have become an inevitable
trend.
Then in 2021, Xi delivered a speech via video at the opening
ceremony of the forum, stressing that China attaches great
importance to sci-tech innovation.
He noted that Zhongguancun is China's first national
independent innovation demonstration zone, and the ZGC Forum is a
state-level platform for global sci-tech innovation exchanges and
cooperation.
Such support and leadership from the top leader have led to
rapid development in Zhongguancun, which has become a flagbearer of
China's innovation. Total revenue of enterprises in the
demonstration zone reached 8.7 trillion
yuan in 2022, which is 3.5 times that of 2012, according to
official data. Due to supportive measures, more than 300
multinationals have set up regional headquarters and research
centers and more than 130 Fortune Global 500 companies have
established branch offices in the zone. Some in China no longer describe Zhongguancun as
"China's Silicon Valley," but "Global Zhongguancun."
Thanks to the achievements in Zhongguancun, Beijing as a whole has also become a crucial
hub in the global innovation network, ranking third globally in the
number of "unicorn" companies and topping the Nature Index global
science city rankings six consecutive times. In 2022, 293 new tech
companies were established each day in Beijing, meaning a new tech firm was born
every five minutes or so on average during the year.
The ZGC Forum has also seen remarkable achievements over the
past decade or so, attracting thousands of industry players and
scholars from around the world. This year's forum, for example, has
attracted guests from more than 80 countries and regions and nearly
200 international organizations and institutions, and about 120 top
experts from around the world, including 17 Nobel Prize
laureates.
For businesses, the ZGC Forum offers a great platform to learn
about latest global trends and advances in cutting-edge
technologies as well as to showcase latest innovation results,
according to Qi Xiongdong, chairman of Qi An Xin Group, a
cybersecurity firm. "If a new technology is not released at the ZGC
Forum, it will not be adopted as quickly," he said.
Beyond the ZGC Forum, China has also created a favorable
environment for innovation nationwide with supportive measures in a
wide range of areas such as talent, Qi told the Global Times.
"China is doing very well in terms of sci-tech innovation," he
said, while noting that the country puts heavy emphasis on
innovation as a primary driving force for high-quality development
and on sci-tech self-reliance and strength.
Innovation as primary driving force
In the report to the opening session of the 20th National
Congress of the CPC in October 2022,
Xi stressed that innovation will remain at the heart of China's
modernization drive. He said that the country will accelerate the
implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, with
faster pace to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in
science and technology. Sticking to innovation-driven development
is also a crucial part of Xi Jinping Thought on the Economy.
Over the past several months, Xi has at various major occasions
stressed sci-tech innovation. While presiding over a group study
session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee
in February, Xi urged strengthening basic research to consolidate
self-reliance and strength in science and technology.
While taking part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies
from the delegation of Jiangsu
Province to the first session of the 14th National People's
Congress in March, Xi said that to open up new areas and new arenas
in development and foster new growth drivers and new strengths in
face of fierce international competition, China should ultimately
rely on sci-tech innovation.
Under the innovation-driven development strategy, China has made
great strides in bolstering its independent sci-tech innovation
capabilities. In 2022, China moved up to the No.11 spot in the
Global Innovation Index released by the World Intellectual Property
Organization, compared to No.34 in 2012. China's investment in
research and development (R&D) jumped three times from
1 trillion yuan ($144 billion) in 2012 to 3
trillion yuan in 2022. The number of R&D personnel also
exceeded 6 million in 2022, maintaining the world's No.1 for many
years.
China has also taken the lead or moved to the forefront in many
areas of cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, new-energy vehicles,
quantum competing and artificial intelligence. A series of recent
major development also offered more proof of China's rapidly rising
sci-tech innovation prowess. On Sunday, China's first home-grown
passenger jet, the C919, made its first commercial flight. Last
week, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization adopted a decision concerning the establishment of a
Category I Institute on STEM (science, technology, engineering and
mathematics) education in Shanghai, which, once approved, would be the
first Category I institute in China.
Shenzhou-16 spacecraft carrying three
taikonauts has been lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Center on Tuesday morning, heading for China Space Station in 1st crewed mission after
station enters application and development phase.
Committed to international cooperation
While focusing on boosting its sci-tech self-reliance and
strength, China has also been actively promoting international
cooperation.
In his congratulatory letter to the 2023 ZGC Forum, Xi said that
as a new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation
continues to evolve, mankind needs international cooperation,
openness and sharing more than ever in order to address common
development problems. Committed to a win-win strategy of
opening-up, China is ready to join hands with other countries to
promote sci-tech innovation and make science and technologies
better serve people of all countries, he said.
"China has an incredible mix of expertise and experience,"
Bill Gates, co-founder of US-tech
giant Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, said in a speech at the ZGC Forum on Friday, noting
China's commitment in investing in sci-tech innovation, according
to a video the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology
Commission shared with the Global Times. "China will be able to
make unique contributions to sharing its technologies."
The ZGC Forum plays several major roles in terms of boosting
sci-tech innovation in China as
well as promoting sci-tech exchanges and cooperation globally,
Wang Peng, a research fellow at the
Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. "Through
the platform, we can better learn about breakthroughs in fronter
sci-tech fields, which offers a clear direction for domestic
sci-tech innovation to tackle bottleneck problems," he said.
Highlighting China's commitment to promote global sci-tech
exchanges, the country has recently held many forums and expos in
various places for domestic and global businesses. In the latest
example, in addition to the ZGC Forum, the China International Big
Data Industry Expo 2023 also kicked off in Guiyang, Southwest China Guizhou Province on
Friday, where many foreign businesses expressed solid confidence in
China's development.
"Panasonic's business in the Chinese market has maintained a
good momentum of development. We have high expectations for the
Chinese market and are expanding new business," Guang Wei, director of BDA product marketing
sales at Panasonic, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the
Big Data Expo 2023 in Guiyang.
Such a sentiment has also been echoed by many at the ZGC Forum,
where many foreign businesses and scholars talked about the vast
potential and opportunity China presents. And they are about to
further see a greater potential in China through a bigger platform. With
construction work for the permanent site of the ZGC Forum expected
to wrap up in August 2023, the
65,000-square-meter venue with modern, green and high-tech features
will officially open its doors to welcome more domestic and global
guests for next year's forum.
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-times-xi-leads-china-in-boosting-tech-self-reliance-fostering-new-growth-drivers-amid-fierce-global-competition-301836794.html
SOURCE Global Times