Xi Jinping promises China will be more open to international scientific cooperation despite drive for hi-tech self-reliance
- President tells World Laureates Forum that the country is willing to work with scientists around the world in areas such as climate change and vaccine research
- Major policy meeting said self-sufficiency would be a ‘strategic pillar’ of development plan, but Beijing says this does not mean it is closing its doors
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that the country will pursue a more open and inclusive strategy towards international scientific cooperation, a day after the Communist Party approved plans to put technological innovation at the core of the country’s development strategy.
Beijing’s economic planners have identified technological competition as an important feature of future great power contests and a communique issued after a major policy meeting ended on Thursday said China would aim to make self-sufficiency in this area a “strategic pillar” of its national development plan.
Speaking to an online forum attended by hundreds of scientists around the world, including dozens of Nobel Prize laureates, on Friday, Xi said that China would make open collaboration a major part of its innovation drive.
“China is ready to work with top scientists around the world and international science and technology organisations to implement a more open, inclusive, and mutually beneficial international scientific strategy,” Xi told the World Laureates Forum in Shanghai, according to state media reports.
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From translation, monitoring vitals signs to purifying air, face masks go hi-tech
He called for further collaboration in areas such as research on Covid-19 vaccines, climate change and health.