Vision 2030: China's tech blueprint reshaping global innovation

The World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index 2025 places China 10th globally for the first time, first among upper‑middle‑income economies and fifth in innovation output.

China leads the world in multiple intellectual property measures, hosts the most top‑100 innovation clusters – including the Shenzhen‑Hong Kong‑Guangzhou cluster now ranked first – and has the world's second‑largest brand value at $1.81 trillion. Building on this momentum, China is advancing industrial leadership under its 15th Five‑Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) companies have developed more than 200 domestic large models and expanded AI deployment across industries. China's "AI+" initiative integrates digital technologies with manufacturing and smart systems, and in 2025 China's core AI industry exceeded 1 trillion yuan (about $142 billion) in scale, underscoring rapid expansion.

Alongside AI developments, China is also expanding its commercial space capabilities: Long March series rockets have launched clusters of satellites from south China's Hainan Province, and the country has applied for frequency and orbital rights for 203,000 satellites to the International Telecommunication Union, planning a mega‑constellation by 2030 that could support a 1.2 trillion yuan industrial chain.

Complementing these industry advances, in 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Initiative, which outlines China's constructive approach to global AI development and governance and has since informed subsequent international cooperation discussions and frameworks. In July 2025, China released the Global AI Governance Action Plan, a concrete follow‑up to the 2023 initiative that provides guidance for multilateral cooperation on secure, inclusive and human‑centered AI governance among participating countries and organizations.

China Media Group also outlined the top 10 AI trends for 2026, including globalization of AI governance, scaling computing power, widespread AI agents and multi‑modal interaction technologies.

Supporting these innovations, China strengthens R&D and institutional investment. In 2025, central state‑owned enterprises invested 1.1 trillion yuan in research and development for the fourth consecutive year and 2.5 trillion yuan in strategic emerging industries, while tax and fee reforms totaling about 10.5 trillion yuan during the 14th Five‑Year Plan period (2021-2025) boosted enterprise innovation.

Major fundamental science missions, such as Tianwen‑2 asteroid sampling and the Chang'e‑7 lunar water exploration mission, demonstrate growing long‑term research capabilities.

Looking ahead, China's next five years of scientific and technological innovation will not be an isolated process. From satellite constellations to AI chips, each breakthrough contributes to addressing global challenges like climate change and disease control.

An innovative China, moving with openness and efficiency, is becoming a key engine for shared global progress.