China has all the ingredients required to move toward an economy based on innovation

Many Western analysts think China has the world's most advanced technology.

Although it is somewhat biased, this impression shows that China has made great progress in science and technology.

It has the world's leading high-speed rail technology, built the 500-meter aperture spherical telescope - the world's largest single-aperture telescope - and is on the front line of manned space and space station technology.

China has also made great progress with stealth fighters, large transport aircraft and aero engines and has topped the global supercomputer speed list for seven years. In addition, the country's development in such fields as microelectronics, internet, artificial intelligence and unmanned aerial vehicles is also significant in speed and scale.

It is no coincidence that China is enjoying a technological boom.

As the world's most populous developing country, China in recent years has been trying to generate new economic driving power with innovative technologies, transforming its economic growth mode.

In past decades, China relied on an economic model that led to social and environmental problems. In the context of a global economy with persistent downward pressures, the Chinese economy is faced with challenges, especially in the export-oriented processing industries.

To change the situation, the country has given priority to industries based on technological innovation, with high economic value, environmentally and socially friendly.

Compared with the hectic real estate industry, the technological industries help tap potential and create demand, rather than creating a potential overdraft with dramatic expansion

With innovation and development in technology, China aims to transform its long-term downstream industries and enhance international competitiveness when the domestic labor force reduces.

The large volume of the world's second-largest economy makes it possible for China to develop innovative technologies.

Technological innovation, especially cross-disciplinary engineering and technology, requires the kind of large investment, both financial and labor, that is beyond most countries.

To develop an advanced aero engine, for example, requires an investment as high as tens of thousands to billions of dollars, which is close to 1 percent of GDP for a trillion dollar economy. This is also true with innovations in fields including modern civil aircraft, large transport aircraft, modern military fighter jets, aircraft carriers, large early warning aircraft, manned spaceflight and deep-space exploration.

Most economies are unable to afford the spending. China is lucky to have considerable economic volume. At the same time, the Chinese government has attached great importance to innovation, considering it an important driving engine for development and putting forward policies to guarantee technological innovation.

Chinese society has a healthy attitude toward innovation, with a relaxed social environment that allows scientists and technicians to develop technologies, with less concern around time and money. This means they are able to explore further to achieve an even more complete result, then test and improve the process before moving on to secondary development.

China's long-term commitment to education gives the country a population equipped for scientific and technological innovation. The education system, though imperfect, has provided abundant talent for future research. At the same time, the demands of technicians and scientists in different industries have led China's education system to reform and develop.

Technical innovation is often based on multi-disciplinary integration. Some colleges and universities in China have broken down the disciplinary boundaries on research projects and allowed exchanges and cooperation among multi-disciplinary talent, which will generate a long-term and far-reaching impact on the education system.

As a big manufacturing country, China has benefited from industry. Global competition has stepped up China's technical management and the quality of its technical talent.

During World War II, the United States doubled the size of its investment in the manufacturing sector, pushing US manufacturing toward global leadership. China now is undergoing a similar process. The internet and mobile terminal-based business platforms have completely changed the traditional commercial credit system, cutting costs and stimulating market demand.

The booming internet economy has stimulated the development of related technologies such as 3D printing, unmanned aerial vehicles and intelligent home appliances. Even medical services are actively connecting with the internet and seeking to tap into greater market demand.

Some Western analysts have often noted the rapid progress of China's national defense technology, such as its new stealth fighter, an aircraft carrier, early warning aircraft, ballistic missiles, hypersonic aircraft and large military transport aircraft. These are reflections of China's technological development, not the whole picture.

China's development in such fields as shipbuilding, electronics technology, materials, metallurgy and aerospace engineering have laid solid foundations for the Chinese defense industry.

The country's rapid progress in a wide range of technologies is the result of demand for domestic economic development, the initiations and interests of the government, the huge size of the economy, rich market potential and a competent population.

In recent years, more private capital has entered technological innovation, in such fields as artificial intelligence, internet technology and virtual reality, which will further stimulate development, create new market demands and build a benign environment for innovation.

The author is deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 10/14/2016 page10)