Editor's note: CGTN presents "China in 2024," a special series that takes an in-depth look at the country's progress in improving livelihoods, high-quality development, deepening reform and further opening up, sci-tech innovation, cultural development and ecological conservation, as well as its diplomatic achievements.
With double-digit growth in the production of new energy vehicles, integrated circuits and service robots in 2024, momentum continued to grow behind China's innovation economy. As Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized during a visit to Hefei City in Anhui Province in October, "science and technology should be at the forefront in advancing Chinese modernization."
A string of major technological breakthroughs also took place, from the unveiling of the Yongzhou tunnel boring machine and the connection to the gird of the world's first offshore wind farm with ultra-large, single-unit capacity to the delivery of the fifth-generation large liquified natural gas carrier Lv Neng Ying.
Major strides in technological innovation
China's global innovation ranking rose to 11th place, up one compared to last year, in the World Intellectual Property Organization's 2024 index, cementing its status as one of the fastest-growing economies in terms of innovation over the past decade.
China now has 26 of the world's top 100 science and technology innovation clusters, surpassing last year's 24, and ranks first globally for the second consecutive year.
New quality productive forces
Meanwhile, regions across the country are seeking to drive the development of new quality productive forces. Beijing, for example, is building an international science and technology innovation center, advancing in emerging fields like 6G and quantum technologies, while Liaoning is strengthening 12 key industrial clusters, with a focus on aerospace equipment manufacturing.
In the first half of 2024, investment in high-tech industries increased by 10.6 percent year on year, outpacing total investment growth by 6.7 percentage points. Emerging sectors such as next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence, new energy, new materials and high-end equipment are emerging as new growth drivers.
A Gravity-1 (YL-1) commercial carrier rocket carrying three satellites is launched from waters off the coast of Haiyang, east China's Shandong Province, January 11, 2024. /CFP
Enterprises driving innovation
According to the latest official report, centrally administered enterprises have intensified efforts to tackle key and core technologies, implementing 11 special action plans and establishing an overall framework for creating 201 original technology hubs in eight major categories and 60 fields.
They have also helped build the national laboratory system, leading the reorganization of several national key laboratories and advancing the construction of innovation consortia. This has driven collaboration among over 500 universities, research institutes, local state-owned enterprises and private enterprises to jointly promote more than 1,000 cooperative projects.
'Patient capital' providing strong support
"Patient capital," characterized by a preference for long-term returns, complements the technological innovation process well with its high barriers, long cycles and high risks.
From the proposal of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee to expand patient capital in April, to the 20th CPC Central Committee's Third Plenary Session's explicit emphasis on its development in July, its role in supporting China's technological innovation is increasingly significant.
As a key component of patient capital, state-owned capital investment has increased this year, promoting technological breakthroughs in advanced manufacturing, energy and electronic information, yielding positive results.
(The podcast is presented by Wang Guan)