Chinese Path to Modernization: International Features, Chinese Characteristics

Sci-tech Innovation to Be Important Guarantee

BEIJING, Oct. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from Science and Technology Daily: 

According to the 20th CPC National Congress report, Chinese modernization is socialist modernization pursued under the leadership of the CPC. It is the modernization of a huge population, the modernization of common prosperity for all, the modernization of material and cultural-ethical advancement, the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, and the modernization of peaceful development.

The report details the strategic direction the CPC will take to fulfill its mission in the new era.

As one of determining factors to realize Chinese modernization, a high level of science and technology self-reliance and self-strengthening is a major task and an important guarantee for the Chinese path to modernization.

The modernization of a huge population requires a comprehensive, systematic and diversified high-quality sci-tech supply. With a population of more than 1.4 billion people, China has the most diversified industrial, market, consumption and social needs structure.

Chinese modernization is in need of not only frontier technologies, but also other various sci-tech supply. While striving to address the issues of bottleneck technologies, China should also take measures to make sci-tech advancement more accessible and beneficial to ordinary people.

The modernization of common prosperity for all requires improving allocation mechanisms of innovation resources. Common prosperity is not the prosperity of a few people, nor is it uniform egalitarianism. In future public governance of science and technology, the issues of efficiency and equity should be reconsidered and re-positioned.

Gearing up for common prosperity, the improvement of a national innovation system should focus on allocation at three levels. For the primary allocation, the equity and accessibility of sci-tech elements should be improved. For the secondary allocation, the central and local government's roles and responsibilities in sci-tech innovation should be explored and improved. For the tertiary allocation, social financing mechanisms should be improved and social sci-tech investment channels expanded.

The modernization of material and cultural-ethical advancement requires balancing sci-tech development and scientific spirit cultivation. Sci-tech innovation culture is an important component of developing socialist advanced culture, and inheriting excellent traditional Chinese culture. It is also a key factor to promote the all-round enrichment of things and the all-round development of people.

To advance all-round innovation with sci-tech innovation as its core, new kinetic energy, new industries, and new business models should be explored, cultivated, and developed. Meanwhile, the self-confidence and self-strengthening of sci-tech innovation culture should be boosted, the scientist spirit should be promoted, and the public's scientific literacy should be continuously improved.

The modernization of harmony between humanity and nature requires making resources and energy constraints as a prerequisite to choose a right technological path. Ecological environment and natural resources are an important factor to adjust sci-tech development, while resource conservation and environment friendly are inherent requirements of high-quality development.

Compared with the old path of "abatement after pollution" taken by earlier industrialized countries, China is actively advancing the construction of both material and spiritual civilization, and pursuing a model of sustainable development featuring increased production, higher living standards and healthy ecosystems.

The modernization of peaceful development requires China playing a greater role in global innovation governance. Compared with the old way of war, colonization, and plunder taken by some countries, Chinese modernization is dedicated to peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit. Striving to build a human community with a shared future, it attaches great importance to sci-tech innovation.

At present, the world is at a crossroad again, with significant changes taking place in global economic competition and cooperation. China needs to develop an open and innovative ecology with international competitiveness, advance an institutionalized opening up in sci-tech innovation, and make new breakthroughs in international cooperation.

(By Li Zhe, Niu Qin & Li Linxu)