Tapping the global innovation ecosystem

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China is pushing to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces through science and technology. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly underlined the importance of an open innovation ecosystem and deeper international cooperation, pointing out that technological innovation is the central driver of this transformation.

Technological innovation is the driving force behind the creation of new industries and business models, and it is central to the development of new quality productive forces. Today, the globalization of technological innovation has become a defining feature of economic globalization itself. Breakthroughs in cutting-edge areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, biomedicine and new energy are injecting fresh momentum into the global economy. The digital economy, growing at unprecedented speed and scale, is reshaping the structure of the world economy and shifting the balance of global competition. In response, countries are rolling out digital economy strategies and advancing green technology innovation to boost resource efficiency and combat climate change.

Open innovation and collaborative innovation are key pathways for advancing science and technology. By fully integrating into global innovation networks, China can tap into worldwide resources more effectively and accelerate the growth of new quality productive forces. This spirit of openness can fuel economic transformation and upgrading, support sustainable development, and strengthen competitiveness on the global stage.

However, economic globalization faces new challenges, such as a resurgence of anti-globalization sentiment and the fragmentation of trade rules. The root of these challenges is a mismatch between existing relations of production and the growth of productive forces. Rising protectionist sentiment and increasingly fragmented trade rules are impeding the free flow of technology, capital and data, constraining the development of productive forces.

For a long time, some Western countries have occupied the high end of the global value chains, reaping substantial gains from globalization but also hollowing out their manufacturing bases and creating structural imbalances at home. In recent years, mounting downward pressure on the world economy and the growing exposure of flaws in the Western model of modernization have fueled a rise in trade protectionism and unilateralism, resulting in increasing international trade barriers and restricted exchanges in science and technology.

Therefore, it is essential to champion a vision of global economic governance based on equality, openness, cooperation and shared benefits; to improve the international trade system; and to advance the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. At the same time, both technological and managerial innovation must be strengthened to help optimize global relations of production.

To drive technological innovation, China should focus on independent breakthroughs in core digital technologies, strengthen its foundational R&D capacity in this field, optimize global resource allocation through data-driven approaches, and reduce market entry costs through cross-border e-commerce and other digital platforms.

To support the low-carbon transition of economic and social development, China should prioritize accelerating the innovation and application of green technologies, as well as building green low-carbon industries and supply chains. Such measures would help cut global carbon emissions and provide an effective counter to trade protectionism.

On the management side, China should step up its efforts to develop intelligent manufacturing. By using automation and big data to boost production efficiency, Chinese enterprises operating overseas will be able to sharpen their competitiveness in an era of fragmented trade rules, further optimizing global value chains and supply chains.

At the same time, high-quality Belt and Road cooperation is a key means to foster industrial synergy and collaboration in technology and infrastructure. It can help partner countries break out of the low-end value chain lock-in, achieve industrial upgrading, integrate more deeply into the global division of labor, and address the unequal distribution of the benefits of economic globalization.

Pressing ahead with reforms and establishing new relations of production adapted to these emerging forces will drive the growth of intelligent manufacturing and the platform economy, optimize resource allocation, and foster international production cooperation.

Therefore, high-level opening-up must be expanded, not only to create a favorable international environment for developing new quality productive forces, but also to support the formation of new relations of production.

High-level opening-up is a vital prerequisite for attracting advanced global factors of production, such as technology, talent and data. By advancing coordinated opening-up, expanding both its breadth and depth, and harnessing openness as a driver of reform and development, China can respond effectively to the demands of the times, boost the overall effectiveness of openness, cultivate new strengths in international cooperation and competition, and inject fresh momentum into the growth of new quality productive forces.

Currently, the emphasis on advancing a high level of opening-up is shifting from facilitating factor mobility, such as goods, services, capital and talent, toward a more institutionalized approach centered on rules, regulations, management and standards. This approach aims to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and globally competitive. In turn, it supports industrial upgrading and structural adjustment, enhances economic efficiency and spurs innovation. Institutional openness also seeks to amplify China's voice in shaping international norms and help build a global rules-based system that advances both national development and shared prosperity.

Steadily expanding institutional openness is essential to meeting the innovation needs behind the development of new quality productive forces. For instance, harnessing new factors of production such as technology and data requires clearly defined property rights systems to protect returns on innovation, distribution systems that incentivize technological R&D, and organizational structures that encourage cross-border collaboration.

Institutional openness calls for aligning rules with international benchmarks and modernizing governance, thereby strengthening property rights protection, market mechanisms, and investment and financing systems. These improvements enable the efficient allocation of new factors of production, such as technology and data, and in turn unlock the innovation potential of new quality productive forces.

Institutional openness also helps facilitate the free flow of technology, capital and talent. Lowering market entry barriers and improving policy transparency can encourage the movement and optimal allocation of resources, strengthen incentives for technological innovation, and create a favorable environment for shifting development models. Likewise, fostering an external environment built on win-win cooperation, advancing the internationalization of financial services, and taking part in the creation of digital trade rules can help attract and concentrate advanced global factors of production to drive the growth of new quality productive forces.

To this end, institutional openness must be steadily expanded and aligned with high-standard international economic and trade rules. This means ensuring compatibility in rules, regulations, management and standards across areas such as property rights protection, industrial subsidies, environmental standards, labor protection, government procurement, e-commerce and finance. Fostering a transparent, stable and predictable institutional environment will be conducive to accelerating the development of new quality productive forces.

Zhang Yuyan is an academic member at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and dean of the School of International Politics and Economics at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Su Jian is a professor at the School of Economics at Peking University. Shao Yujia is director of the Center for National Resource Economic Studies at Peking University. The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.