
Leading the development of new quality productivity with technological innovation – This is how China’s economy will work in 2025
Source: People’s Government of Guangdong Province
At the beginning of the new year, new trends in the field of innovation have written a footnote for the development of new quality productivityββ
The revised “National Natural Science Foundation Regulations” has been implemented, clarifying that “for major original, cross-disciplinary innovation and other fund-funded projects, the fund management agency can formulate special application and review regulations”; the S1000 floating wind power generation system successfully flew and generated electricity in Jiangxi, and enterprises and universities and research institutes jointly tackled the problem to achieve the conversion of high-altitude wind energy into electricity; the Optics Valley Future Industry Research Institute in Wuhan, Hubei is continuously tracking and exploring key projects in the future industryβ¦
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must lead industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation and actively cultivate and develop new quality productivity.” The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year proposed that “leading the development of new quality productivity with scientific and technological innovation and building a modern industrial system.”
Accelerating the development of new quality productivity is what is needed now, what is urgent for development, what is related to the future, and what is the general trend. Since the beginning of the year, all regions and departments have developed new quality productivity according to local conditions, continuously promoted the gathering of new momentum, the emergence of new formats, and the growth of new industries, and injected more driving force and support for high-quality development.
Strengthen basic research and key core technology research, and play a role in technology source
The experiment is entering a critical stage – the researchers carefully drip the liquid precursor on the electrode, and then place the electrode on the heating table, waiting for it to become a solid electrode.
In Huairou, Beijing, in the Clean Energy Materials Testing, Diagnosis and R&D Platform Laboratory of the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher Yu Xiqian led the team to conduct solid-state lithium battery research and development experiments.
“Compared with the commonly used liquid electrolyte lithium batteries, solid-state lithium batteries use highly stable solid electrolytes, which can improve battery energy density and safety.” Yu Xiqian said that the team has successfully developed samples and strives to achieve industrialization as soon as possible.
Tackling cutting-edge topics and continuously improving the original innovation source
Recently, the “first kilometer” of domestic lithium research has made a number of progress: Tsinghua University unveiled the veil of lithium bonds and lithium ion bonds for the first time; the University of Science and Technology of China discovered the key factor to break through the capacity bottleneck of lithium oxygen batteries; the results of South China University of Technology provide new research materials and ideas for the protection of lithium metal negative electrode interfaceβ¦
The national strategic scientific and technological forces are accelerating the construction, and original innovation and industrial development are “resonating at the same frequency”, which has accelerated the development of lithium from the laboratory to the application, driving the development of new energy vehicles, energy storage, communications and other industries.
At present, China scientific and technological support capabilities are constantly increasing, laying a good foundation for industrial development.
Seeing the diffraction spectrum data analysis results of the deepest measurement point of the oil pipe welding part, the members of the China Spallation Neutron Source Engineering Materials Neutron Diffractometer team were overjoyed.
Using neutron diffraction technology, they recently completed the first domestic residual stress test of the girth weld of a large-diameter high-grade steel oil and gas pipeline. “The results have introduced new technologies for pipeline research and also demonstrated the supporting role of major national scientific and technological infrastructure.” said Li Xiaohu, the team leader.
Establish a high-energy level R&D platform to generate more blockbuster research results
In Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the construction and development of the extremely weak magnetic large scientific facility are ongoing, and the “laying eggs along the way” results such as magnetometers provide fresh water for new industries; in Hefei, Anhui, the construction of the superconducting tokamak large scientific facility cluster is accelerating to promote the development and application of fusion energyβ¦
“A strong country in science and technology must have strong original innovation capabilities. Large scientific facilities can breed new scientific discoveries and let technological innovation take the lead.” Fang Jiancheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.
Juxin Coal Mine in Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province, 400 meters underground. Blocks of hard rock are cut, ground and transported out. As the world’s first mobile hard rock tunneling machine for mining, the “Liangdu” has a monthly excavation volume of up to 417.9 meters. With its help, Juxin Coal Mine was put into production two years ahead of schedule.
“With the support of the first set of policies, new products will soon grow into ‘competitive products’ and expand dynamic after-sales services, equipment leasing and other businesses.” Jiang Tao, office director of Guizhou Heilaga Technology Equipment Co., Ltd., said that the “Liangdu No. 2” shield machine currently under development is expected to roll off the production line this year, and the company’s overall sales revenue is expected to exceed 1.2 billion yuan.
Be a good “amplifier” for market-oriented applications, and scene innovation will become a new engine.
Beijing released a list of 30 smart city innovation needs; Zhejiang proposed to explore new modes of operation of intelligent connected vehicles for airports, scenic spots and other scenes⦠Driven by policies, more and more new technologies, new products and new scenes have been implemented, leading to technological breakthroughs and industrial upgrades.
“To promote high-quality development, we must strengthen scientific and technological innovation, especially original and subversive scientific and technological innovation, and promptly apply the results of scientific and technological innovation to specific industries.” Liu Dongmei, secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development Strategy, said.
Accelerate the transformation of old and new kinetic energy and build a modern industrial system
The traditional industries are renewed and upgraded, and the transformation of old and new kinetic energy is accelerating with the development of new quality productivity.
In the factory of Anshan Iron and Steel Group Guanbaoshan Mining Co., Ltd., large ball mills roar, inspection robots collect equipment temperature, vibration and other data in real time, and cleaning robots keep cleaning dust.
Liu Chunhui, deputy manager of the company’s equipment, said that compared with traditional mineral processing methods, intelligence has increased the processing capacity of raw ore, concentrate output, and metal recovery rate, improved the efficiency of ball mills and filter presses, and reduced comprehensive energy consumption.
From unmanned mines to smart ports, with the empowerment of digital technology and green technology, new quality productivity in traditional industries is also accelerating. In 2024, my country’s investment in technological transformation in the manufacturing industry will increase by 8% over the previous year. In 2025, my country will strive to build more than 500 intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories that lead the development of the industry.
Strategic emerging industries continue to seek innovation and create differentiated competitive advantages.
More than 10,000 solar cells can be produced in 1 minute. Currently, 70% of the world’s photovoltaic modules come from China.
In recent years, my country’s “new three” products have performed well, but some emerging industries have repeated layouts and “involution” competition, which not only reduces resource utilization and allocation efficiency, but also hinders the healthy development of the industry.
How to solve the problem? Trina Solar Co., Ltd. gave the answer: transform from “price involution” to “value creation”.
In Changzhou, Jiangsu, more than 200 researchers are promoting the research of next-generation high-efficiency solar cell technology.
“We focus on the three major directions of crystalline silicon, perovskite and III-V solar cells, and strive to achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement.” Trina Solar Chairman Gao Jifan said, “In the context of the construction of a new power system, the company’s integrated photovoltaic storage solution revenue has exceeded the overall revenue by 30%, becoming the ‘second growth curve’.”
Strategic emerging industries are key areas for my country to cultivate new development momentum and create new development advantages. In 2024, the added value of my country’s high-tech manufacturing industry above designated size will increase by 8.9% over the previous year, significantly faster than the growth rate of industrial enterprises above designated size. Last year, the number of effective invention patents in strategic emerging industries reached 1.349 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.7%.
The advanced layout of future industries will breed new business prospects and market opportunities.
The “embodied intelligence” that integrates large models and robots is one of the most anticipated technological breakthroughs this year. Many domestic companies are stepping up their efforts on this new track of future industries.
“We independently developed end-side multimodal large models to give humanoid robots a smarter “cerebellum” that can meet the needs of accompanying and rehabilitation.” Li Dahai, CEO of Mianbi Intelligence, introduced, “Driven by ‘artificial intelligence +’, humanoid robots are expected to be used in more scenarios.”
The number of registered large models in Beijing reached 105, Chongqing built 1,096 digital workshops, and Heilongjiang extended the entire chain of graphite mining and processing⦠From science and technology innovation highlands, industrial bases to logistics hubs and energy centers, different regions and industries have coordinated the upgrading of traditional industries, the growth of emerging industries, and the cultivation of future industries, and the land of China has gained stronger development momentum.
Improve the efficiency of scientific and technological innovation organizations and open up the integrated development channels of “industrial chain” and “innovation chain”
As the world’s first company to mass-produce industrial-grade semi-polar gallium nitride materials, Xi’an Safelex Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. once faced the dilemma of “no funds and lack of equipment”.
Zhongke Chuangxing Technology Investment Co., Ltd., which is engaged in early-stage investment in hard technology, proposed that its R&D platform equipment could be rented. “The Shaanxi Optoelectronics Pioneer Institute we initiated has a clean room, production and auxiliary equipment to help companies accelerate R&D and production.” Mi Lei, founding partner of Zhongke Chuangxing, said.
From participating in the A round of investment in 2017 to increasing investment again in 2022, Zhongke Chuangxing has been accompanying Safelex in chasing “light” and “electricity”. In Mi Lei’s view: “The laws of scientific and technological innovation determine the laws of scientific and technological innovation investment. We must continue to strengthen patient capital and give full play to the role of venture capital and equity investment.”
The deeper the reform goes, the more surging the innovation. Only by opening up the bottlenecks in the mechanism and solving the transformation problems can the “nutrients” of new quality productivity become more abundant.
A thin line with a diameter only as wide as a hair can lift a thousand-pound weight. Professor Wu Jindan of Zhejiang University of Technology has been working in the field of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene for more than 10 years. The results went to the production line because of the “hand-in-hand” between the school and the Zhejiang Modern Textile Technology Innovation Center. “With the platform, enterprises raise demands, we jointly tackle key problems, and the road of industry-university-research integration is broader.” Wu Jindan said.
Questions, questions, answers, and questions⦠Use institutional innovation to untie the shackles of scientific and technological innovation and smooth the channel for achievement transformation.
What is the relationship between “constructing the analytical expression of the forward and inverse solution of the wire rope coordinated motion model and the motion coordinate system” and “cement loading”? Most people may find it puzzling. As a technology broker, Wang Hui knows the secret. Relying on his familiarity with scientific research results and the market, he quickly matches the required technology for enterprises.
At present, my country’s technology broker team is growing and the technology market is booming. At present, my country has cultivated more than 16,000 incubation institutions and 420 national technology transfer demonstration institutions to support the accelerated transfer and transformation of technology.
Wherever there is a demand for innovation, reform will follow.
Hubei relies on the innovation points system to intelligently assign points and quantitatively evaluate scientific and technological enterprises; Chongqing encourages enterprises to submit technical requirements through digital platforms, and the platform accurately pushes results and scientific and technological personnel information online; Inner Mongolia officially includes technology brokers in the professional title evaluation sequenceβ¦
“We must further strengthen the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, promote a virtuous cycle of science, technology, industry, and finance, build a new production relationship that is compatible with new quality productivity, and let all kinds of advanced and high-quality innovation factors gather to develop new quality productivity, and constantly give birth to new industries, new models, and new momentum.” said Yin Hejun, Minister of Science and Technology.