Inclusive innovation of China's sci-tech stars hailed amid Two Sessions

Editor's note: Ankit Prasad is a CGTN biz commentator. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The lead-up to the annual two sessions has witnessed tremendous buzz around China's technological capabilities, with noteworthy developments taking place at an exhilarating pace. Now, as the third session of the 14th National People's Congress and the third session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee begin, a little more light is being shed on how this explosion of innovation ties in with holistic progress, not only for China but for everyone.

Just as the world acknowledged the market-shaking emergence of DeepSeek's AI reasoning model, Chinese film "Ne Zha 2" shattered global box office records and confirmed China's animation prowess before the world's eyes. Simultaneously, humanoid robots made by Unitree Robotics took center stage at the China Media Group Spring Festival gala, going viral and bringing focus to how Hangzhou has emerged as an incubator for some of the most exciting new-gen tech startups in the world.

For many, just these headline achievements would imply sufficient advances to make it a successful year. But the reality is that the momentum is only building, with new successes continuing to emerge from China, marking somewhat of a coming-of-age.

The latest, and perhaps most exciting breakthrough in the long run, is in the realm of quantum computing. Chinese scientists have unveiled a 105-qubit superconducting quantum computer prototype named Zuchongzhi 3. Its developers tell Xinhua that it processes some tasks at speeds a quadrillion times faster than the world's most powerful supercomputer and a million times faster than Google's latest published results.

Just like how DeepSeek's reasoning model followed hot on the heels of a similar but costlier offering from ChatGPT, Zuchongzhi 3 comes just a week after another US company - Microsoft - announced an almost literal 'quantum leap' with its Majorana 1 quantum chip. This and other developments indicate that China is showing signs of matching the US innovation-for-innovation, and even surpassing it in some areas. However, unlike in America's case, the trait of protectionism and being 'closed' doesn't typify China's progress.

For instance, while the US has been imposing curbs on high-tech exports to China in an effort to stem AI progress, China has adopted an inclusive approach, sharing its innovations and capabilities with the world. Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), highlighted this during the pre-session press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. Answering a question on DeepSeek, he said, "DeepSeek follows an open source technological path. Such an open source approach has facilitated the wider application of AI technologies worldwide and contributed to China's wisdom to the world. Through DeepSeek one can see China's innovative and inclusive approach in sci-tech development."

DeepSeek is but one important item in a pattern of encouraging wider and more inclusive adoption of pathbreaking technologies. China's systematic pursuit of new quality productive forces in various sectors has now even made its way to agriculture, emphasized in the 'No.1 central document' of 2025 released on Feb 23. The successful integration of AI, drones, robots and genetics in farming would present models and use cases for numerous countries, particularly in the Global South.

Speaking before the CPPCC National Committee session, member Zhao Hong, Chief Physician of the Cancer Institute and Hospitals, CAMS, spoke about innovation in the pharma space. "A recent headline is about an unknown enterprise in China beating the most popular drug in the world in beating cancer. It's one example showing how more therapies from China are exported overseas. We are catching up with the others and we gradually innovate to lead the way," he said. The therapy he's speaking of is Ivonescimab, made by Chinese biotech company Akeso, which beat US pharma giant Merck's bestselling Cancer treatment drug Keytruda in a trial, as per CNN. A success of this type could easily have a global scope.

Even in space, the formula is one of inclusion. Not satisfied with achieving the significant feat of continuously operating a space station in orbit, China is set to pave the way for developing countries to send their astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station, even signing an agreement to this effect recently.

Furthermore, there is an effort to appreciate accomplishments irrespective of origin. For instance, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) last week unveiled separate lists of the top 10 Global and Chinese sci-tech achievements of 2024.

The idea that force-multipliers like science and technology should strike a balance between national aspirations and global inclusivity is a powerful one, and has the potential to bring about tangible social change transcending borders. As the world's second largest economy, China's increasing competence combined with its capability to take up large and ambitious endeavors presents a great opportunity for all-round progress.