Chinese President Xi Jinping repeats call for tech self-reliance, innovative talent
- Innovation is a decisive factor in building a modern socialist country and achieving China’s second centenary goal, Xi says during trip to Wuhan
- Remarks come as country gears up for Communist Party’s national congress, where the president is expected to deliver a report on strategy for the next five years
Wuhan is an up-and-coming tech hub and hosts the regional headquarters and research centres of Chinese giants Huawei, Tencent and Xiaomi. It is also home to key facilities of dozens of notable tech companies, including major fibre-optic cable manufacturers and chip makers.
The optoelectronic information sector was a strategic hi-tech industry with a wide range of applications, and China had the potential to take the lead in it, Xi said during a visit on Tuesday to the Wuhan Huagong Laser Engineering, where he inspected innovations in the chip industry.
“We must strengthen technological development, master more core technologies with independent intellectual property rights, continuously extend the innovation chain and improve the industrial chain,” he was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Even though China is the world’s second largest economy, it still lags behind in a number of areas, such as a stable foundation for some industries, and the key to that is innovation, according to Xi.