Sci-tech to maintain its key role in China's economic work in 2025

Science and technology will continue to play a key role in China's economic work in 2025, according to information from the country's annual meeting to decide economic priorities.

The Central Economic Work Conference, held from Wednesday to Thursday in Beijing, listed nine key tasks for the country's economy in the next year, among which sci-tech innovation is a priority.

The task requires China to make sci-tech innovation drive the development of "new quality productive forces," a concept introduced in 2023 that refers to a new development model of high-tech, high efficiency and high quality.

While sci-tech innovation topped the economic priorities list in 2024, boosting consumption has taken precedence in 2025.

Two new phrases appeared in the description of the sci-tech task – the "AI+" initiative and addressing the "rat race" competition.

Unleash the power of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the only specific industry mentioned in the task, compared to over six in last year's description.

China has rapidly established itself as a global AI powerhouse, with a robust industrial ecosystem encompassing everything from chip design to AI applications. The country's manufacturing sector, which accounts for a significant portion of global production, is poised to benefit immensely from AI-driven automation and optimization.

"China's manufacturing sector accounts for 30.3 percent of global manufacturing. Our goal is to transform manufacturing into a high-tech industry," said Zhu Min, a member of the Senior Expert Advisory Committee of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. "In the first 20 years of reform and opening up, we made China's manufacturing the cheapest in the world. In the past 20 years, we have made it both cheap and good. In the next 20 years, we want to combine innovation with industry to make it cheap, good and high-tech."

The burgeoning generative AI market in China further underscores the country's commitment to AI development. By June 2024, the user base of generative AI products had reached 230 million, and the value of the core sector was nearly 600 billion yuan ($82.84 billion).

Chinese leaders have increasingly highlighted the importance of AI in key meetings. At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October 2022, AI was designated a key driver of development, alongside information technology, biotechnology, new energy and other sectors. Furthermore, the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in July 2024 emphasized the need for both the advancement and regulation of AI.

Addressing the rat race

The conference also urged addressing the issue of "rat race" competition, or "neijuan," a Chinese buzzword that refers to excessive working hours and competition that often lead to diminishing returns and a negative cycle.

"The decision makers have recognized this problem and explicitly stated their intention to address it," said Dong Yu from the Institute of China Development Planning at Tsinghua University. "This move is expected to improve the industrial ecosystem by fostering fairer distribution of profits and creating more growth opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises."

Li Wei, an associate researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, emphasized the need for a tailored approach to developing new quality productive forces. "To escape the rat race, we must develop productivity in a targeted manner," Li said. "Different regions and industries should adopt different development paths based on their own characteristics and advantages, avoiding the rush and formation of bubbles."