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Srđan Kerim: China continuously expands the breadth and depth of technological cooperation 

Scientific and technological innovation is a crucial support for driving economic growth in the digital era. Research and development (R&D) generates frontier scientific and technological knowledge; innovation converts that knowledge into products, services, and process workflows with market value; and high technology comprehensively reshapes the patterns of production, consumption, and global trade. These three elements form a positive cycle, continuously enhancing production efficiency, industrial competitiveness, and long-term growth momentum.

Entering the 21st century, China has grounded itself in its own development realities, continuously connecting the entire chain from basic research and achievement conversion to industrial application. This has driven leapfrog developments in scientific and technological innovation, realizing a transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China." Its development practices provide a useful reference for global technological innovation and shared prosperity.

In recent years, China's scientific and technological innovation has achieved all-around and ground breaking achievements. The digital economy is booming, having built a world-leading digital market. Digital payments, e-commerce, and smart applications are widely adopted, and a batch of leading enterprises with global competitiveness has emerged. China has built the world's largest high-speed rail network and a cluster of world-class ports. The coverage breadth of the 5G network and the scale of data centers continue to expand, solidifying a firm hardware foundation for innovative development.

China’s Leadership in the AI  strategic priority

Artificial intelligence has been elevated to a national strategic priority, with continuous increases in investment in fields such as machine learning, computer vision, and industrial automation, placing its overall development level among the top in the world.

Advantages in green and low-carbon technologies are particularly prominent: China has built the world's largest and most complete new energy industry chain and is the world's largest electric vehicle market, while its technological advantages in power batteries inject strong momentum into the global energy transition. Aerospace end

eavors have achieved landmark breakthroughs—the independent construction and operation of its space station, steady progress in lunar and 

deep-space exploration, placing China among the ranks of major space powers...

The reason China's scientific and technological innovation has been able to achieve rapid development stems from unique comparative advantages across multiple aspects:

 An ultra-large domestic market provides rich application scenarios for technological innovation, significantly shortening the commercialization cycle of innovative results.

 The scale of engineers and STEM talent cultivated annually in China ranks among the highest in the world, providing a steady supply of professional manpower for technological innovation.

Complete manufacturing industry clusters create efficient synergistic effects, enabling rapid transition from laboratory R&D to industrial mass production.

 A modernized transportation and logistics system alongside a digital network effectively reduces transaction costs in the field of innovation while accelerating the diffusion and application of technological achievements.

At the same time, relying on the overall coordination capacity guided by long-term strategic planning, resources can be concentrated on key national technology sectors, forming a powerful combined force to promote innovative development.

China's scientific and technological innovation has always upheld the concepts of openness, inclusivity, and mutual benefit (win-win), following a path of open and integrated development. China continuously expands the breadth and depth of technological cooperation. 

The scope of cooperation encompasses digital connectivity, joint scientific research, technology transfer and transformation, green development collaboration, talent exchanges, and joint innovation projects, building a tight technological innovation cooperation network with countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe.

Deepening technological cooperation with China holds vast opportunities

For countries around the world, deepening technological cooperation with China holds vast opportunities. Taking Europe as an example: its climate governance goals and China's advanced manufacturing capabilities are highly complementary. Joint efforts by both sides in areas such as new energy, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence can not only accelerate breakthroughs in frontier technologies, but also help build a more balanced international economic order and reduce development risks brought by technology fragmentation. This cooperation is built on mutuality, transparency, and win-win outcomes—a strategic alignment that empowers both sides rather than a unilateral dependence.

China's scientific and technological innovation continues to expand the depth and breadth of South-South cooperation, driving the global innovation landscape toward a more diverse and balanced direction. In the long run, global innovation resources will gradually show a multi-centric distribution trend. Addressing global challenges such as climate change, public health, and food security will increasingly depend on cross-border technological cooperation, and a nation's development potential will increasingly depend on its capacity to integrate into the global knowledge network.

History and practice have repeatedly proven that protectionism can hardly sustain long-term prosperity. Short-term protective policies may foster emerging domestic industries, but the foundation of a country's long-term development always lies in openness, fair competition, and deep integration into the global market. Protectionism will only drive-up production costs, weaken industrial competitiveness, slow down technology diffusion, and even trigger chain negative effects such as supply chain fragmentation and slowing productivity growth.

Looking to the future, development opportunities will never belong to close and exclusive small economic circles. Scientific and technological innovation is not only an important engine for a country's economic growth, but also the solid foundation for global sustainable development and common prosperity in the 21st century. Only by adhering to openness, integration, and mutual benefit can we firmly grasp the epochal opportunities of technological innovation and join hands to address the shared challenges facing global development.

People's Daily, July 29, 2026, page 3

Editors: Yang Guangyu, Hu Yongqiu

https://world.people.com.cn/n1/2026/0729/c1002-40769766.html