China must innovate if it wants to be a world leader in science and technology, government steering group says

Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, the country’s top negotiator in the trade war with the US, has called for a “comprehensive assessment” of global trends as Beijing looks to prepare a new long-term programme for scientific and technological development.

According to a statement issued by the central government late on Wednesday, Liu has been appointed head of a leading group on institutional reforms and innovation in the technology sector, which held its inaugural meeting earlier the same day.

“We need to seriously evaluate how previous … science and technological development programmes were implemented,” the statement said. “We should comprehensively assess the world’s future technological development trends, stick to a perspective of globalisation, [and] embody the spirit of reform and opening up.”

Despite the fact that Beijing’s ambitions regarding technological advancement – most of which fall under the “Made in China 2025” plan – were a factor in US President Donald Trump launching the trade war, the statement said that the “profound changes in the external environment” and “innovation capability in science and technology will be key in determining the nation’s strength and international competitiveness”.

As China’s hi-tech sector has become a target for Washington’s punitive tariffs, President Xi Jinping has said repeatedly this year that the country would spare no effort in developing its own core technologies.

As well as chairing the new leading group, Liu was last month named deputy head of the National Science and Technology Leading Group, under Premier Li Keqiang.

In Washington, several senior officials, including Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s top trade advisers, have expressed their concern at Beijing’s plans to become a global force in a wide range of tech sectors – from aerospace and industrial robots to high-speed trains and semiconductors.