That is the headline on a Global Times editorial published yesterday, which reports that the issue of technological independence will be a central topic at the upcoming Two Sessions meetings of Chinese lawmakers and political leaders, which will set the parameters of the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021 – 2025). At a press conference on Monday, Xiao Yaqing, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, reported that his ministry had undertaken a full review of 41 sectors of the economy, mapping out key industrial chains in order to “find empty spots as well as our weaknesses… Fixing the chain is to fix our shortcomings and weaknesses, ensuring that the chain won’t break during crucial times.”
Global Times explained that “China’s long-term development requires significant breakthroughs in core technologies,” especially since “an escalating technology crackdown campaign launched by the US, which has seen restrictions on supplies of chips and other crucial components to China, added urgency for China to address these `bottleneck’ problems.” That is why, the editorial explained, “Through a series of top policy meetings and documents, China has set achieving technological independence as a top priority for years to come.”
“Ahead of the two sessions, proposals and suggestions from NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members have largely focused on technological developments in areas such as chips and crop seeds — both have been deemed by top officials as overly reliant on foreign suppliers. These proposals and suggestions could result in concrete policy measures and ambitious goals expected from the two sessions, analysts said.”
The editorial then provided an example: “Take chips as an example. Currently, China imports about 90 percent of chips used in the country, worth around $300 billion, but China is aiming to reverse that with 70 percent of chip supplies coming from domestic manufacturers by 2025.”
Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, commented: “That is a very ambitious goal that will require massive investment in a lot of areas… Whether it’s internal needs or external risks, what we can be certain of is that in the next five years and longer, China will deploy its massive national strength to achieve technological and supply chain independence. And I have no doubt we will have a completely different picture of the global technological power structure in the end,” Xiang said.