Technology

China wants to be the global technology leader by 2049 at the latest. Things are looking good in some areas, but less so in others. The Table.Briefings editorial team has all the latest news on technology in China. Technology in China China has announced ambitious goals. The People's Republic wants to become the global leader in technology and innovation by this year at the latest. Things are looking good in some areas, less so in others. Overall, China still has some catching up to do. In the global listing of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China currently ranks twelfth. This means that the People's Republic is not one of the top ten most innovative economies. The list is headed by Switzerland, Sweden, the USA and the UK. In Asia, South Korea (fifth place) and Singapore (eighth place) are ahead of China. However, there are some areas in which China is already a leader. For example, 40% of all patent applications relating to 6G technology come from the People's Republic. This technology is expected to be usable from 2030. Transformation of the economy in China China can only become a technology leader if there is a transformation in the economy. Corresponding steps are also set out in the 14th five-year plan. In particular, it lists innovations in the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum technology, information technology, brain research, biotechnology, digitalization and aerospace. Made in China 2025 is another strategy of the Communist Party. Among other things, it aims to make China a world leader in the fields of telecommunications, robotics, high-end automation and vehicles with alternative drive systems. In this way, China wants to get rid of its image as the "workbench of the world". Technology: promotion by 2025 The Made in China 2025 plan sets out five initiatives to help China become a global technology leader as quickly as possible. The first initiative consists of the establishment of forty new research and development centers by 2025, in which companies, universities and research academies are to work together. Under the second initiative, independent research and development centers will deliver patents for high-end products in the defined key technologies. Initiative three is about reducing CO₂ emissions by twenty percent in order to make production more environmentally friendly and industry greener. The fourth initiative aims to reduce operating costs, production time and failure rates in key industries by half with the help of smart manufacturing. Initiative five deals with the development of materials and components. China aims to increase its self-sufficiency in core materials to 70% by 2025. Ambitious space travel in China China has ambitious plans in the field of space travel. Like many areas of technology, it also has a significant political component. For President Xi Jinping, it is part of China's revival as a global power and technology leader. Space travel is part of the soft power strategy and therefore also pursues geopolitical interests. The Communist Party's plans in this area are correspondingly ambitious. In addition to establishing a base on the far side of the moon and building its own space station, the People's Republic is planning three major missions to explore the solar system by 2030. The asteroid Kamo'oalewa and comet 311P/PANSTARRS are to be approached. A sample return mission to Mars and the exploration of Jupiter are also planned. Problems in semiconductor production China is lagging behind in semiconductor production. The entire Chinese semiconductor industry produces about as much as the US supplier AMD. The Chinese economy has become dependent in this area. Although 60% of the chips produced worldwide are consumed in China, only 16% of the processed units actually come from China. This is one of the reasons why semiconductor production is at the heart of the "Made in China 2025" strategy. It envisages that China will produce exactly 70% of the chips it consumes by 2025. However, the sector is miles away from achieving this. On average, growth of around one percent per year is currently expected. This would give China a rate of 19.4% in 2025. In 2020, the Communist Party subsidized semiconductor production with a total of USD 100 billion. Through tax cuts and cheap loans. A total of 50,000 new companies working in the field of semiconductor technology were founded as a result. A lot of money has been invested in research and development in particular, as China's semiconductor manufacturers are clearly inferior to their foreign competitors. China's biggest apps Among the most popular apps in China are Tencent's WeChat applications, which are used to organize almost all areas of daily life. The program also has a payment function. In second place among the most popular apps is the instant messenger QQ, also from Tencent. Third place among the most popular apps goes to Alipay from the online department store Alibaba. However, the Chinese Communist Party has the tech giants in its sights. The private companies are becoming too powerful for them, which is why there is repeated state intervention. For example, the app from Didi, the Chinese Uber, had to be removed from all app stores. The background to this was its IPO in the USA and concerns that the USA could intercept user data. The Boss Zhipin job platform and the Full Truck Alliance truck booking app are also under investigation. Mobile communications: China is the global market leader in 5G technology In China, the spread of the 5G mobile communications standard is a high priority. The country is correspondingly advanced in this area. By mid-2021, the People's Republic had already invested 40 billion US dollars in this technology. This enabled 718,000 5G base stations to be set up. That is more than in all other countries in the world combined. 87% of all 5G connections come from China. However, Chinese companies have a problem. They are not allowed to participate in the expansion of 5G technology in the USA. The hurdles are also too high in Europe. That is why China is cooperating with Russia. The Chinese mobile communications equipment supplier and cell phone manufacturer Huawei is expanding the 5G network in Russia together with the Russian company MTS. China divided on artificial intelligence The Communist Party's approach to artificial intelligence is ambivalent. On the one hand, the regime relies heavily on this technology when it comes to monitoring its own population. It is also trying to advance this technology as quickly as possible in the areas of industry and mobility. On the other hand, the government in Beijing has passed a strict law to regulate the artificial intelligence of private companies. The aim is to protect citizens from manipulative algorithms. For example, companies must disclose if they use an algorithm to advertise content or products. It must be possible to switch off this algorithm. In future, users must also be able to access what a provider knows about them. In addition, the algorithms must be programmed in such a way that the suggestions are not click-addictive. Digitization in China Digitization is one of the most important research and economic sectors of the future in China. Ken Hu, CEO of Huawei, predicts that around 55% of China's GDP will be generated by the digital economy by 2025. The Communist Party is also responding to this in the area of finance. It is currently testing the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) – also known as E-Yuan. A digital currency based on blockchain. The fact that more and more Chinese people are using the payment app from Tencent and Alibaba is a thorn in the side of the government. The government has no access to this data. The e-yuan aims to change this. China is the largest robotics market China is the largest market for robotics. The coronavirus pandemic has cemented this status. In 2020, 169,000 new robots were installed in the People's Republic – an increase of 17.4%. The use of robots has increased, particularly in hospitals, hotels and restaurants, in order to reduce the risk of infection. In industry, automated companies have been considered particularly crisis-proof since the pandemic. In China, there are around 187 robots for every 10,000 employees. The global average is around 117, while in Germany it is 350 robots per 10,000 employees. South Korea leads the way with 850, and the crisis has led to investments in this area being brought forward and expanded. Robotics is also part of the Made in China 2025 strategy, and the government in Beijing is subsidizing suitable projects accordingly. Trend technology in China: smart home The smart home sector is growing massively in China. In 2021, around 230 million devices will be delivered in the People's Republic. This corresponds to growth of 14.6%. The number is expected to grow to 540 million devices in 2025, according to the global market research company International Data Corporation (IDC). The average growth rate of 21.4% is due on the one hand to the early stage of development and the low market penetration of this technology. On the other hand, it is also due to the fact that smart homes and the Internet of Things are a technology of the future. Technology news from China The Chinese technology sector could fundamentally change the economy around the world. The impact of innovation in this area cannot be overestimated. The Table.Media editorial team provides all the news in German on technologies in China.