China wants to win the race in science and tech. It may not work, some experts warn

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences are being urged to increase efforts to take the global lead in science and technology

But some experts warn forcing a political agenda on the science community could come at the cost of healthy scientific inquiry

Reading Time:5 minutes

Published: 6:00am, 15 Mar 2024Updated: 8:54am, 15 Mar 2024

Hou Jianguo, head of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was on a mission in the days after the Lunar New Year holiday, visiting research institutes in Beijing and Wuhan, as he urged them to take up the call from President Xi Jinping and speed up efforts to seize the high ground in science and technology.

Xi’s call itself is not new – it can be traced back to 2013. But this time the narrative from the top has appeared more aggressive. At an annual agenda-setting CAS conference, Hou urged scientists to “bolster the spirit of qiang”, saying that 2024 was a crucial year for China.

The Chinese word qiang usually refers to the act of getting something quickly, sometimes in an unethical or violent way, such as to rob or loot. But another meaning is to vie as a front runner in a competition.

In this context, it is more likely that qiang is used to express the urgency of the task, the rush to get to the top of the global scientific and technological race faster, rather than anything as nefarious as the word’s other meaning.

To realise this vision, CAS’ subordinate research institutes have been called on to “take advantage of the new ‘whole-nation’ system” by innovating the way their resources, including talent and platforms, are structured, according to Hou.

CAS is the world’s largest government research organisation, with more than 100 research institutes, 130 state-level key laboratories or engineering centres and 69,000 full-time staff. Along with major institutions such as Germany’s Max Planck Society, CAS was among the top five in a Nature Index that measured the research output of academic institutions between February 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023.

The “whole-nation system”, or juguo tizhi, refers to mobilising the resources of the entire country to achieve specific goals, such as gold medals in sporting events, key scientific breakthroughs or economic targets.

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