China, including its major companies, is investing big on research and development (R&D) for breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies, to not only make innovation integral to economic growth, but gain a global edge, with CNY3.08 trillion already allocated for R&D in 2022, up 10.1% year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and much more in the offing for the future. The R&D expenditure of enterprises reached CNY2.39 trillion in 2022, up 11% year-on-year, contributing 84% to the country’s R&D growth, up 4.6 percentage points from the previous year. China will scale up its R&D budget by more than 7% annually during the 14th Five Year Plan (2021-25) period. Consultancy McKinsey & Co said in a report that such a growth target will make China the world’s largest spender on R&D. China’s R&D expenditure accounted for 2.54% of GDP last year, which is 0.11 percentage point higher than the previous year.
Though the figure is close to the average of 2.67% for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economies, it put China in the 13th place globally, far behind some developed economies like the United States, which tops the table. “Although the R&D intensity of China has been continuously increasing, the country’s investment in basic research is insufficient, which directly leads to a relative lack of innovations based on complex, underlying supporting technologies and scientific research,” said Liu Qiao, Dean of the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University.
Liu said China’s position index in the global value chain (GVC) in 2018 was 0.01 while the U.S.’ was 0.29. This means, the U.S. continues to be at the top of the GVC and has strong control over core technologies and raw materials. This gives it the power to create constraints for other countries and economies downstream in the GVC. “To change this situation, China must increase investment in basic R&D and promote Chinese industries to move upstream in the global value chain. Only when breakthroughs are achieved in basic research can we truly break developed countries’ vice-like grip on key technologies,” he said.
Wu Hequan, Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said basic R&D has a high degree of uncertainty, and requires space for trials and errors before success can be attained. “But if everyone aims for success, there will be few opportunities for disruptive innovations,” Wu said. “Thus, it requires joint efforts from researchers, the government and social forces like companies.” To encourage such R&D and support full-time research professionals under 45 working in China, Ma Huateng and a group of renowned scientists initiated the Xplorer Prize, for those working in fields like mathematics, physics, chemistry, new materials, astronomy, geoscience, advanced manufacturing and other frontier technology areas. Each prize winner receives CNY3 million over a period of five years – unprecedented in scale for scientific awards in China. Researchers and scientists who are awarded the prize are free to use the money in the way they deem fit.
In late September, a cohort of 48 young scientists was awarded this year’s Xplorer Prize. One of them is geologist and planetary scientist Joseph Ryan Michalski, Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong and a U.S. national, the first non-Chinese to win the prize for his studies on Mars. As of September, 248 young scientists had been awarded the prize. The research achievements of seven awardees have made it into the Top 10 of China’s annual scientific advances.
Deng Zigang, Researcher at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, epitomizes China’s recent thrust on R&D. Five years ago, Deng wanted to develop a vacuum-tube maglev. In the initial stages of executing his ambitious project, he targeted a 45-meter loop and a top speed of 50 kilometers per hour. But some experts were skeptical. They said the eventual outcome of his research would be “a toy”, not a serious transportation option. Such attitudes affected Deng’s confidence, but he did not give up on his dream. Instead, he persisted despite not receiving much recognition for his efforts. Ultimately, his sustained focus on the frontier area paid off – he won the Xplorer Prize. “It really meant a lot to me and our research team as we felt more empowered, more confident, and more motivated,” Deng said, adding it is gratifying to see his area of specialization has now become a key focus of research both in China and abroad. Over the past five years, Deng and his team have developed a high-speed maglev experimental loop in China, making improvements to the project continuously. Theirs is the world’s first high-temperature superconductor vehicle test platform that can withstand speeds of up to 620 kilometers per hour, promising a new generation of transportation technology that could benefit not just China, but the entire world. It is an area where several countries and regions are striving for a breakthrough, the China Daily reports.
