Can China let its young tech innovators boldly go where no one has gone before?
- Beijing needs to unleash the creativity of its researchers if it is to close the technology gap with the West on its own
- The country has become very good at making products such as EVs but has neglected the basic science essential to the future
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In decades past, China tried to close the technology gap by buying chips, acquiring core technologies, forming joint ventures, hiring professionals from overseas, or sending students to study abroad.
But now US sanctions and suspicions about Chinese companies operating in the West are forcing Beijing into self-reliance mode.
To be fair, China has made immense technological progress in the past decade and is a leading manufacturer of many hi-tech products such as EVs.
In just 10 years, China’s ranking among 132 economies in the Global Innovation Index rose from 35th in 2013 to 12th in 2023.
However, the country still lags behind Singapore and South Korea among Asian economies.
It is also an open secret that China is behind in basic science. The focus has shifted in the past four decades away from trying to answer fundamental scientific questions towards developing advanced technologies that can quickly bring about economic benefits.
That explains why China can make many advanced products and military hardware but struggles to manufacture the most advanced chips and engines for fighter jets.
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As Marina Yue Zhang, a social scientist in innovation and entrepreneurship studies at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, told the journal Nature in December 2022, the problem for China is how to shift away from “ranking-driven, catch-up models that focus on short-term incentives” such as journal publications, to pursuing “long-term knowledge accumulation based on academic curiosity and freedom”.
That realisation seems to be sinking in.
“[We should] allow them to make mistakes in their studies, tolerate failures so that young people dare to do things other people won’t try,” he said, adding that only by doing so could innovative and revolutionary outcomes be achieved.
But China must confront a dilemma if it is to provide the right conditions to nurture this kind of entrepreneurial spirit.
At the micro level, schools teach model answers to predictable questions and students are punished for disobedience.
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At the macro level, decision making and resources are becoming more centralised as the Communist Party assumes more of the decision-making functions of the government.
At the societal level, initiatives by the public such as non-governmental organisations are not welcome, and maverick and dissident views are punished.
So the big question is whether it really is possible for China to nurture innovators who are inquisitive and creative enough to think outside the box.
Also, is it enough for China to pour resources into top-down innovation when there is little innovation bubbling up from the bottom and joint ventures are no longer as easy as before?
Innovation is more than just academic papers or citations but a culture that gives the young generation the space and safety to explore unconventional ideas and bold experiments, whether it be in technology, business or even public governance.
