On December 16, the China Public Relations Development Conference was held in Beijing, and the theme of this year's conference was "High-quality Development of Public Relations Services".
Wang Yiming, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and former deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said in his keynote speech that the key to promoting high-quality development lies in scientific and technological innovation. In his view, accelerating the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement is the only way to promote high-quality development, "In the fierce international competition, we must open up new fields and new tracks for development, shape new momentum and new advantages for development, fundamentally speaking, we still have to rely on scientific and technological innovation." ”
Wang Yiming said that high-quality development is a big test, and all localities and industries must strive to achieve good results, and public relations will definitely play an important role in promoting local and industrial scientific and technological innovation and high-quality development practices.
The reporter of Nandu paid attention to the fact that this year's Central Economic Work Conference mentioned "high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance" for the first time in the overall requirements, and next year around the nine key tasks of high-quality development, "leading the construction of a modern industrial system with scientific and technological innovation" ranked first, and the policy deployed by the meeting is conducive to stabilizing expectations, stabilizing growth and stabilizing employment, and also highlights the support for "scientific and technological innovation".
On December 16, the China Public Relations Development Conference was held in Beijing.
The technological revolution has brought China to a relatively cutting-edge zone like never before
According to Wang Yiming's analysis, the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation has developed rapidly, and the international balance of forces has been profoundly adjusted.
He believes that the main line of the current scientific and technological revolution is intelligence, digitalization and networking. The mobility and ubiquity of network interconnection, the high-speed and intelligent information processing, and the high-energy and quantization of computing technology.
This scientific and technological revolution is reshaping the competitiveness of various countries and the pattern of global competition, and it is also changing the relationship between China and the world. The international division of labor has a "center-periphery" structure, and China has entered a relatively frontier zone from the "periphery" to the present.
The scientific and technological revolution has also brought revolutionary changes to the industrial ecology. Advanced sensing technology, digital design and manufacturing, robots and intelligent control systems are becoming more and more widely used, and the intelligent manufacturing mode of man-machine integration is changing the scale, centralization and standardization of the original products.
Now, artificial intelligence has set off a new wave, and ChatGPT is penetrating into various fields with its powerful word processing capabilities. This kind of artificial intelligence will be based on network-based artificial intelligence in the future, which will promote autonomous learning Xi, human-machine collaboration, augmented intelligence and network-based swarm intelligence, which will have a far greater impact on various fields than imagined.
Shanghai has accelerated the formation of new quality productive forces. This is a robot exhibit taken at the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Achievement Exhibition on November 29, 2023. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fang Zhe
In the face of the "small courtyard and high wall" of the United States, we must make a breakthrough in scientific and technological innovation
In terms of international power adjustment, the most important thing is the change in the balance of power between China and the United States. Wang Yiming said that the core of Sino-US game competition is also scientific and technological competition. The United States regards China as its biggest strategic competitor and will do whatever it takes to contain and suppress China. Now that the United States realizes that comprehensive decoupling is unrealistic, the basic strategy of the Biden administration is to "build a high wall in a small courtyard", defend the small courtyard and build a high wall, the "small courtyard" is the key core technology, and the "high wall" is to delineate clear strategic boundaries and take stricter and more vigorous measures to blockade China's science and technology.
A series of bills have been introduced in the United States over the past two years to do so. The idea is to be two generations ahead of the curve in key technologies. Among them, the Innovation and Competition Act is to allocate $200 billion over five years and set up a special Technology and Innovation Council (DTI) to manage funds to seek new breakthroughs in ten key areas. The CHIPS and Science Act directly subsidizes semiconductor factories. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is subsidizing areas such as electric vehicles and clean energy.
In addition, the United States has been escalating restrictions on exports of semiconductors and critical equipment to China since October last year. Recently, the United States reached an agreement with Japan and the Netherlands to restrict the export of advanced chip manufacturing equipment to the mainland, and companies such as ASML in the Netherlands, Tokyo Electron and Nikon in Japan.
Wang Yiming believes that China must make new breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation, and the central leader has said that "scientific and technological innovation is not only a matter of development, but also a matter of survival."
Science and technology attack the "cutting-edge" industry climbing. The same superconducting quantum computer as "Zu Chongzhi No. 2" exhibited in the exhibition hall of Keda Dadun Quantum Technology Co., Ltd. Xinhua News Agency
A local leading model should be constructed to form asymmetric countermeasures
Wang Yiming said frankly that China's scientific and technological innovation has achieved rapid development, but there are still shortcomings and weaknesses in scientific and technological innovation, mainly in three aspects.
First, the original innovation ability is relatively weak, and the basic research is relatively weak. The data shows that in 2022, the proportion of basic research in mainland China in R&D will be 6.32%, far lower than the level of 15%~25% in OECD countries.
Second, key core technologies are controlled by others. "The source of the technology is overseas, and it used to be available, but now the West doesn't sell it. We now value basic research, and this requires a process. Wang Yiming said that for example, high-end chips, aero engines, robot core components, energy storage technology, high-end medical equipment, biopharmaceuticals and other fields, the situation of being controlled by others has not fundamentally changed.
Third, there are still few leading talents in science and technology. At present, all localities pay more attention to the number of talents introduced and ignore the construction of talent environment.
In view of the above realistic situation, Wang Yiming believes that it is necessary to shift from the technology catch-up mode to the construction of a local leading model, such as 5G and 6G, quantum computing may not be able to take all the lead in the short term, but the local lead can form an asymmetric countermeasure ability, so as to enhance the initiative when the supply is "cut off".
In addition, a shift from end-product innovation to intermediate-product innovation can be considered. The mainland catches up with the more successful industrial technologies, including nuclear power, hydro turbines, high-speed rail, construction machinery and communication equipment, etc., most of which are end products, through the introduction, digestion, absorption, re-innovation and the support of domestic purchasers, and gradually form a strong international competitiveness, but the intermediate products carrying key core technologies are still shortcomings, such as key chips, components, key materials, and parts still have to be imported.
This is Tesla's booth in the intelligent vehicle chain exhibition area of the first China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Chao
To enhance the security of the supply chain, we must not work behind closed doors, but should be open and cooperative
"Moving from encouraging integrated innovation to encouraging original innovation is what needs to be done into the future. Wang Yiming said that this is to enhance the independent and controllable ability of the industrial chain and supply chain. In 2019, Chinese mainland has become the world's largest supply chain hub. The world's three major product production centers are China, the United States, and Germany. McKinsey's statistics on 180 major global trade commodities found that 70% of production is concentrated in China. Today's "de-risking" by Western countries is essentially reducing their dependence on China.
He pointed out that China has both advantages and weaknesses, we are processing and assembly, we are in the downstream of the value chain, and we face the risk of being "stuck" by upstream countries with natural resources and irreplaceable technologies. In recent years, the West has promoted "de-Chinaization" and "de-risking", which is actually promoting industrial emigration, which makes the security of our supply chain prominent.
Wang Yiming said that the top five suppliers of 10,000 products in China's import catalogue are all developed economies, with a global market share of more than 60%, excluding energy and resource products. China's imports exceeded 100 million yuan.
"We can generally screen out 86 kinds of short board products, of which 68 are intermediate goods and 18 are capital goods. Of these 86 species, 71 are in the United States, 69 in Germany, and 61 in Japan. Wang Yiming said, "Who can jam your neck, we will see at a glance." ”
Under such circumstances, can we engage in the supply chain behind closed doors? Is it safe to do it all ourselves? In this regard, Wang Yiming said: Theory and practice tell us that this is not right. Because the more competitive an industry is in the world, the more dependent it is on foreign trade in imported intermediate goods, and the more vulnerable it is. The paradox is that when an industry loses its position in the global value chain, it loses its dependence on foreign countries. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to open cooperation, not behind closed doors, but to strengthen the open cooperation of industrial and supply chains.
A corner of the body shop of Volkswagen's Anhui modular electric drive platform plant in Hefei, Anhui Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Xiaoyi
A typical case of scientific and technological innovation helping butterfly change: Hefei has changed from soil to coric
In his speech, Wang Yiming used a local case and a new energy vehicle industry case to tell how scientific and technological innovation can help butterfly change.
"When I went to Hefei in the 80s of the 20th century, I felt like a county town, rustic, and now when I look at it, it has become 'Corico'. Wang Yiming believes that "Corico gas" means that the scientific elements are increasing rapidly. At present, Hefei is one of the cities with a relatively high concentration of large scientific devices in China. In terms of the number of national laboratories, Beijing has 9 and Hefei has 3. The 14th Five-Year Plan also lists Hefei as a comprehensive national science center along with Beijing, Shanghai and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In terms of economic aggregate, Hefei has also entered the "trillion club".
Scientific and technological innovation has brought profound changes to Hefei's industry. Hefei calls it "core screen automobile, urgent lifelong wisdom". "Core" is integrated circuit, Hefei has become the fastest developing city of integrated circuits in China, and "screen" is the display screen. The Hefei government has injected 9 billion yuan into BOE to tide over the difficulties. "Automobile", now Hefei has become one of the production centers of new energy vehicles, including the new power of NIO and many brands of cars. "Cooperation" is the integration of artificial intelligence and manufacturing. "Emergency" refers to the urban emergency safety industry, "Ultimate" refers to the intelligent terminal industry, "Sheng" refers to the biomedical and health industry, and "Intelligence" refers to the intelligent voice and artificial intelligence industry.
When other local platform companies are engaged in image engineering, Hefei is engaged in industry and high-tech industry, and Wang Yiming believes that this is a case of local high-quality development.
In the assembly workshop of Lynk & Co's Yuyao plant in Ningbo, Zhejiang, a fully automated production line transports new energy vehicles to the next link. The Yangtze River Economic Belt is an important gathering place for the automobile industry, bringing together a large number of automobile brand OEMs and various auto parts manufacturers, and the new energy vehicles manufactured and exported here have increasingly become the "golden business card" of China's exports. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Weng Xinyang
The reverse purchase of Chinese technology by Western car companies is a wonderful change in the industry
At present, new energy vehicles are becoming a unique landscape of China's manufacturing industry, and they are the "new three" for export.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, this year's national car sales will exceed 30 million, a record high, among them, the strong growth of new energy vehicles is an important driving force for the rise of automobile production and sales, new energy vehicle production and sales are also expected to be close to 10 million, and the market share of more than 30%.
In addition, exports of domestically produced new energy vehicles are expected to reach 1 million units this year. "At present, China's new energy vehicles have entered the European market. Whether the next step is to open the U.S. market, this also requires public relations. Wang Yiming pointed out that new energy vehicles not only have strong growth in production, sales and exports, but also have a leading position in supply chain technology. It is worth noting that the new situation is that European auto companies, which have a history of several hundred years, are now buying Chinese technology in reverse to reduce R&D costs and shorten the gap in electrification. "For example, the cooperation between Volkswagen and Horizon is a wonderful change that reflects the fundamental progress of the industry. ”
Why new energy vehicles can become bigger and stronger on the automobile track, Wang Yiming analyzed, on the one hand, the West has two or three hundred years of technology accumulation in the field of traditional technology, and it is difficult for us to surpass, but we are all at the same starting line on the new energy vehicle track, and it is difficult for Western traditional car companies to let go of the traditional burden. Secondly, the national and local governments have also given a lot of support, and Hefei's NIO is a typical case. In addition, it is scientific and technological innovation. China is at the forefront of 5G and artificial intelligence, which has also laid a very good foundation for the intelligence and electrification of new energy vehicles.
Written by: Nandu reporter Chen Qiuyuan, Guo Ruomei, Mo Qianru from Beijing