China's tech growth is exponential, and many Western countries are asking themselves whether or not Beijing will emerge the tech leader soon.
The Tencent Holdings Ltd. headquarters building in Shenzhen. Photo credit: Tencent/media.
While most American scholars have described the recent rise of Chinese manufacturing as a result of R&DT, where “R&D” is Research and Development, and “T” is Theft, Allison (2017), my opinion would deviate a little bit from that, given the massive Chinese spending and commitment to development research compared to the U.S., hence it is paying off.
Secondly, Chinese academia and industry are well connected in research, from ideation to fruition all the way to consumption. Thirdly, China is very ambitious, with lessons learned from the western stories, she is destined to the top position in technology development.
Lastly, the ultimate goal of any research undertaking is to lead to a solution, in this case, a product that could be a game changer in the market. If research ends up in papers and shows very little of practicality, then it has lost its meaning. Despite her shallow spending on basic scientific research, China has been very keen on the development research that leads to the development of products and services in the market. There has been a steady increase in the level of research year on year as seen in the table below.
Basic Statistics on Scientific Research and Development Institutions
In 2017, China’s total spending on R&D grew sharply to12.3%—1.76 trillion yuan ($254 billion), narrowing the gap between the two countries, U.S. and China in terms of R&D spending, (Normile, 2018). Although China still has a long way to catch up with the research capabilities of the developed countries, the government and private sector are committed to making China a scientific power.
The period between 1978 (Opening-up) and now constitutes a very important aspect of China’s industrial development: fast-paced manufacturing sector development and upgrading, and deepened innovation involving a shift from labor-intensive manufacturing to capital-intensive technology and to independent innovation and production (Lianshui, 2017, pp. 1-2). According to Lianshui, et al, to understand China’s manufacturing trajectory, three stages could best describe the industrial lifecycle of the country; boom stage (1978-1994); two-wheel driving stage (1995-2010); and new innovation driving stage (2011-present), with the first phase being the start of large-scale manufacturing in China and external interactions, and the second, marked by numerous challenges in the Chinese economy like climate change, unemployment issues, and the third, an era of smart manufacturing and intense internet use. It is the present state of global manufacturing. In the face of the difficulties, China has persistently attached a great importance to manufacturing and innovation.
Today, China is the world’s workshop for computers, mobile phones, telecommunications equipment, pharmaceuticals, solar technologies, and semiconductors. Who would ever think the discovery of drones in the U.S.A would benefit another country like China? The commercial market for drones is now flooded with China-made drones, with the U.S. and other countries as clients. It is still a far-fetched truth about the impact of extensive development research in China. Similarly, China has the world’s longest rail network—High- Speed Rail (HSR), with a coverage of at least 6, 717 miles, against 456 miles (U.S.), (Dumaine, 2015). Actually, the total HSR network of China is still wider than U.S. A’s, Japan’s and Europe’s combined, moreover, achieved over a very short spell. The 1, 142km Qinghai-Tibet is today the world’s longest railway built by China and launched in July of 2006. China Railway Corporation plans to install another 6,800km of new track in 2019 alone, a 45% increase from the previous year. The HSR network grew very rapidly to 29,000km by end of 2018, almost meeting the 2020 target of 30,000km 2 years ahead of time, (Tang, 2019).
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