US-China tech war: Beijing draws up three-year plan to revamp state technology system
- The new blueprint approved by President Xi Jinping calls for an improved state system to help China achieve self-sufficiency in technology
- Efforts to revamp the country’s tech system gains urgency after US sanctions limited China’s access to advanced chips
China’s top leadership has approved a three-year plan to revamp its state science and technology system amid intensifying rivalry with the United States, zeroing in on technology as the key to the country’s future.
The Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission, an agency headed by President Xi Jinping, approved on Wednesday the 2021-2023 blueprint, aimed at “winning the tough battle” of refining how China manages its science and technology resources and projects.
Xi said at the meeting that the ultimate goal is to set up an institutional system for “self-sufficiency and self-empowerment in technology”.
The leader said that China has made “substantial progress” in its technology system, but the country still has weak points and institutional barriers that are slowing the country’s technological advancement, according to a summary released by state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The full text of the plan has not been published.
Chinese government officials commonly use the term “technology system” to refer to a combination of policies, regulations, institutions and personnel related to technology research.
China is taking a national approach to pull resources from both the public and private sectors to address bottleneck issues and build up advantages in new areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Within the domestic semiconductor industry, which is suffering from US sanctions imposed on Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies Co, authorities are encouraging both state research institutes and businesses to jointly overcome bottlenecks.