Premier's speech highlights China's R&D push

By Carl Benjaminsen

The 13th National People’s Congress kicked off in Beijing on Monday with Premier Li Keqiang delivering the leading government work report. One of the topics raised several times during the wide-ranging speech was that of technology and innovation. 

The sophistication of technology research and development in China has accelerated rapidly. In his speech, Premier Li reported that investment in research and development increased by 11 percent a year over the last five years, making China the world’s second largest investor in this area.

A child touches a static electricity ball at Guangdong Science Center during the opening of the 2016 Guangzhou Science and Technology Week in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, May 15, 2016.[Photo: Xinhua]

Discussions about technology in China often focus on the things people might see in their day-to-day lives, like the now ubiquitous mobile payment apps like Alipay and Wechat, and the growing use of facial recognition for things like checking into a train station, or hiring a car, or paying for shopping at new unmanned convenience stores. 

But China has been making huge investments into other advanced technologies in a range of areas that Premier Li touched on throughout his speech. 

China has made significant advances in space technology. The Premier gave as an example the country’s developing manned spacecraft program. He also mentioned China’s cutting-edge quantum communications satellite technology, which was successfully tested last year. 

The country’s investment in deep-sea exploration is another area touched on by Premier Li. These investments are already showing promising results: China set a new world diving record in 2012 with its Jiaolong manned submersible, which reached a depth of 7,062 meters in the Pacific Ocean Mariana Trench in 2012. While the Jiaolong was heavily reliant on imported technology, just five years later the country’s first domestically designed and built deep-sea submersible, Shenhai Yongshi, passed early sea trials last year. 

Premier Li also spoke about the government’s Made in China 2025 plan. Its goal is to foster development of advanced and environmentally friendly manufacturing. The sophistication of high tech industrial manufacturing is clearly evident in China’s rail and nuclear power sectors, both of which were mentioned in the report. 

Over the last decade, China has gone from being an importer to an exporter of high-speed rail technology. This change has come about through the experience the country gained building the world’s largest high-speed rail network, with the fastest scheduled train in service. With a top speed of 400 kilometres an hour, the domestically designed and manufactured Fuxing train run faster than Japan’s famed Shinkansen (300 km/h) and France's TGV (320 km/h). 

China’s progress in developing its nuclear industry has been equally impressive. Most of the country’s electricity is produced in coal-fired power stations. As the Premier mentioned in his speech, coal consumption is down and the bulk of the country’s coal-fired power plants now incorporate ultra-low emission technology. But nuclear power is another one of the ways the country is working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Building safe and reliable nuclear power plants is extremely demanding, which is why it is such a notable achievement that China is now part of the small group of nations that manufactures and exports nuclear power technology. 

The government has invested in the expansion and improved management of research institutions and universities as well as research and development precincts, with the Premier referring to the opening of 14 national innovation demonstration precincts in Beijing and Shanghai. Investments like these are part of the reason why the Premier could report that the number of domestic invention patents had tripled over the past five years. 

And developments in the high technology sector seem destined to continue. As reported by the Premier, the share of foreign investment in high technology industries has already doubled. And the country is pushing hard to encourage foreign talent to come and work in China. 

Based on the work undertaken by China’s government over the last five years, there is every indication that it will remain focused on developing the country’s technology and innovation potential. And as China strengthens its relationships with other countries through initiatives like the Belt and Road, it is fair to say that the future of the technology sector in China will be felt around the world. 

(Carl Benjaminsen is a copy editor and reporter at China Radio International. After working in the NGO and local government sectors in Australia, he decided to pursue his passion for learning about China and moved to Beijing, where he now lives.)