Editorial

Sci-Tech Innovation Spearheads Development

In contrast to the countries which， in imposing unreasonabletariffs and enacting discriminatory bills， have wielded the cudgelof protectionism， China has vowed to ratchet up efforts to foster aglobally competitive， open environment for scientific and technologicalinnovation. Chinese President Xi Jinping laid emphasis on thoseefforts on June 11， while presiding over the fifth meeting of the CentralCommission for Deepening Overall Reform.

In light of the countrys commitment to improve the system andmechanism of opening-up， Xi underlined the vital role played by thelatter in the countrys science and technology sector， which is expectedto proactively integrate the globally oriented innovation systeminto the global innovation network.

Professionals and talent in the sci-tech sector have been instrumental in the countrys innovation.

In a recent reply letter to Dean of the College of AI under TsinghuaUniversity Andrew Chi-Chih Yao， Xi expressed his hope that Yao wouldtake the lead in exploring approaches to cultivating innovative talent，and fostering interdisciplinary integration and frontier innovation.Such efforts would contribute to the countrys drive to achieve greaterself-reliance and strength in science and technology， Xi said.

Yao is among the many scholars that have returned to China overthe past several decades after an extended stay in the West. Since2012， overseas Chinese students have shown a growing tendency toreturn to their home country， according to the 2022 Blue Paper forChinese Overseas Students Returning to China for Employment released bythe Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange. During the period2012-2022， about 3.4 million Chinese， accounting for more than 80percent of the countrys overseas students， came back.

“More than half of the Chinese students around me plan to returnto China to work. We believe that our international thinking and visioncan give us a more competitive edge in the job market，” said ZhaoZhijin， a student at Japans Musashi University， according to Xinhua.

Many returnees attribute their decision to Chinas growing developmentopportunities， and the favorable conditions that have beencreated for them. In 2015， China issued a notice on facilitating theentrepreneurship of returned overseas students， closely followed byanother notice in 2016 on offering guarantee loans to support entrepreneurshipand employment. Chinas Ministry of Education datashow that during the period 1978-2019， 4.23 million of the 6.56 millionChinese studying abroad chose to return to China after finishing theirstudies.

President Xi has emphasized the vital role of scholars that have returned from abroad. In his congratulatory letter to the 110th found-ing anniversary in 2023 of the Western Returned Scholars Association，Xi expressed hope that overseas Chinese students and scholars wouldcarry forward their patriotic tradition， serve the people， stay confident，break new ground and forge ahead， and maintain an open and inclusivemind to promote the exchanges and mutual learning betweenChina and other countries.

The recent meeting also underlined the expansion of internationalscientific and technological exchanges， and the establishment ofcooperative partnerships bringing mutual benefits. In acknowledgingthe imperative for deep involvement in global science and technologygovernance， the country will combine the strategies of “bringing in”and “going global” to create an open and globally-competitive environmentfor scientific and technological innovation.

China has advanced its opening-up and international cooperationin science and technology over the past several decades. The countryhas， according to the Ministry of Science and Technology， establishedsci-tech cooperation relations with more than 160 countries andregions， and signed 116 inter-governmental agreements on sci-techcooperation. Meanwhile， the country has also set up a global scientificresearch fund specifically to support foreign scientists participation inits science and technology programs. China proposed， at the inauguralBelt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange lastNovember， the joint building of a global science and technology communitythat provides an open， fair， equitable and non-discriminatoryenvironment for international cooperation in science and technology.By the end of June 2023， China had helped its BRI partners to buildmore than 20 agricultural technology demonstration centers， and setup 50-plus BRI joint laboratories in such fields as agriculture， newenergy， and health.

The 2023 edition of the Global Innovation Index （GII）， released bythe World Intellectual Property Organization （WIPO）， shows that scitechclusters in China have increased to 24， compared with 21 last year，so placing the country at the top of the global list. In 2023， the countrystotal expenditure on research and development reached RMB 3.3trillion， a year-on-year increase of 8.1 percent.

This year， Chinas government work report revealed an AI Plus initiative，aimed at fueling the countrys digital economy and spurring thesmart transformation and modernization of manufacturing sectors.In fact， the past several years witnessed， with the launching of a seriesof smart manufacturing initiatives， Chinas advance to the forefront ofglobal innovation. The country now boasts 421 national-level showcasefactories， according to Xinhua， encompassing a network of 10，000or more provincial-level digital workshops and intelligent factories.