China Hi-Tech

China is widely recognized as one of the biggest producers of wholesale products, consumer goods, and heavy industrial machinery among other things. But perhaps fewer people know about the role of the Chinese economy in hi-tech development, including advanced consumer electronics, biotechnology, ICT (information and communications technology), and other similar fields. Due to an aggressive Chinese government policy toward modernization and increased integration with the global economy, Chinese technology and R&D (research and development) have been advancing at staggering rates, bringing innovation into every field of the Chinese economy, from agriculture to manufacturing and industry, from Chinese wholesale and retail businesses to the most cutting-edge industries and even the service sector.

The history of Chinese technological innovation is quite long and rich. The Chinese empire, even before the Middle Ages, represented one of the most advanced and innovative civilizations in the history of humankind. The Chinese have been credited with the invention of the compass, paper, and gunpowder, among other things — all technological innovations that have, ironically enough, later enabled European nations to rise to great imperial and colonial status.

In the People’s Republic of China, particularly after the initiation of economic reforms in 1979, Chinese hi-tech research and scientific advances have benefited the global economy as well as Chinese industry, manufacturing, and China’s position as a major economic power. Whereas during the Cold War it was the United States and the Soviet Union that competed exclusively in the so-called Space Race, China has recently become the third nation fully capable of sending its own men and women into outer space. In the fields of engineering, the natural sciences, computer science and development — all critical fields for gaining and maintaining a competitive edge over other nations — the economy of China has been developing at an incredible rate. This speedy development has certainly been assisted by the priorities and heavy investment of its government as well as by the sheer numbers of the Chinese population, which today is over 1.3 billion people.