習文樂見 | 創新驅動發展：從“跟跑”到“領跑”的科技突圍

Innovation-driven Development: From Follower to Forerunner in Sci-Tech Development

From the blueprint for sci-tech development in the early days of the People’s Republic of China, to the continuous planning after the start of reform and opening up, and then to the long-term layout in the new era, China has always taken sci-tech innovation as the core of its development. Nowadays, the country is seeing increasingly improvements in R&D investment, patent achievements, research platform construction, among others, indicating that it has taken solid steps forward along the road of sci-tech leapfrog development from a follower to a forerunner.

We should devote more effort to original and pioneering research and make breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. A country can thrive only when it is strong in science and technology.

Reinforcing basic research is essential to building greater strength and self-reliance in science and technology.

——The speech at the joint session of the 20th Meeting of the Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the 15th Meeting of the Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 10th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology, May 28, 2021.（The Governance of China IV ）

The Outline of the Long-term Plan for the Development of Science and Technology (1956-1967) formulated in the early stage of the People's Republic of China 

The National Outline for the Development of Science and Technology (1978-1985) formulated in the early days after the start of reform and opening up 

The National Outline for Medium- and-Long Term Scientific & Technological Development (2006-2020) issued in 2005 

The National Plan for Medium- and-Long Term Scientific & Technological Development (2021-2035) formulated in the new era 

In 2024, the annual R&D expenditure in China amounted to 3,613 billion yuan, an increase of 8.3% over the previous year.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) funded a total of 54,900 projects.

By the end of 2024, a total of 206 national engineering research centers had been included in the new serial management and 1,798 corporate technical centers had been recognized by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

There were 1,606 national high-tech enterprise incubators and 2,376 state-class maker spaces.

1,045,000 invention patents were granted throughout 2024, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%. By the end of the year, there were 5.689 million valid invention patents, an increase of 14.0% over the end of the previous year. The number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people reached 14.

4,781,000 trademark registrations were registered in 2024, an increase of 9.1% over the previous year. A total of 990,000 technical contracts were signed throughout the year, with turnovers totaling 6,835.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 11.2%. The proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy reached 15.37%.

(Source: National Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Communiqué of the People's Republic of China on the 2024 National Economic and Social Development)

Based on the current situation, China has made outstanding achievements under the innovation-driven development strategy. This is not only a vivid interpretation of the concept that “science and technology build a strong nation and country,” but also indicates that China is moving forward to the forefront of the world in sci-tech development with its strong scientific and technological strength, and narrating a brilliant Chinese story on the global innovation stage.

（監製：蔚力；策劃、文案：曹川川；翻譯：劉海樂；審校：曹川川，丁素雲；剪輯：張豈凡，曾雯）