How China is steadily becoming the world's innovation leader

Editor's note: Bu Chao is director of the Digital Economy Special Committee at the Beijing Computer Society. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. It has been translated from Chinese and edited for brevity and clarity.

It is widely recognized both domestically and internationally that China has become a global innovation leader. According to the National Innovation Index Report 2024 recently released by the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, China ranks 10th globally in overall innovation capacity, climbing 10 places from 20th in 2012. Similarly, the Global Innovation Index 2024 published by the World Intellectual Property Organization shows China rose from 12th to 11th place in just one year, making it one of the fastest-advancing economies of the past decade. As the only middle-income country among global innovation leaders, China's comprehensive strength in national innovation competitiveness lies in three key areas:

In terms of foundational conditions, China has benefited from a highly stable institutional environment and a favorable market environment. The consistency of China's science and education policies, the sustained factor inputs and expanding market demand have together created an ideal environment for innovation. In recent years, not only have large numbers of overseas Chinese scholars returned, but also many top global scientists, whose working language is not Chinese, have joined renowned universities and leading enterprises in China. This is evidence of China's powerful appeal as a fertile ground for innovation. 

As for critical factors, China possesses a well-structured talent system and a fully functional industrial system. Its ultra-large market has fostered deep integration between technological and industrial innovation, ensuring strong input of innovation factors and accelerating China's transformation into a global intellectual property powerhouse. In advanced manufacturing and related fields, master technicians and highly skilled workers have played vital roles in areas such as product design and testing, as well as process iteration and upgrades. Alongside top-tier professionals in both fundamental and applied R&D, they are key contributors to China's transformation into a manufacturing powerhouse.

Regarding innovation drivers, China has demonstrated a strong capacity for original, application-oriented innovation, alongside state-supported capabilities for tackling scientific challenges. The rapid development of platform-based internet economies has efficiently aggregated diverse user needs, fostering a dynamic environment for collaborative innovation between the supply and demand sides. This highlights the vitality of China's traditional innovation philosophy, centered on practical utility under new conditions. Guided by national top-level design, high-quality innovation factors in various aspects have been effectively coordinated and efficiently allocated. Significant progress has been made in long-cycle, strategic research projects in frontier fields supported by the government, as well as in technological breakthroughs aimed at resolving bottlenecks within key links of the industrial chain.

As China approaches the 15th Five-Year Plan period, innovation-driven development will remain a defining theme of high-quality growth. Building a knowledge economy where innovation contributions are closely related to economic returns, fostering a knowledge-based society where all citizens engage in innovation, and cultivating an innovation culture that continuously generates new insights for humanity are key pathways for China to become a global innovation leader. Having shattered the monopoly of developed nations over global innovation discourse, China is now releasing innovation dividends that benefit the entire society and are shared with the world. It is well-positioned to become a model and leader for the Global South in reshaping global rules and order of innovation.