ALTHOUGH there is still a gap between China’s chip-making capabilities and those of the world’s most advanced countries, China is rapidly catching up. U.S. chipmakers have warned that sanctions will not stop China, but rather encourage it to double its efforts in finding alternatives to U.S. technology. Over the years, Washington has been restricting China’s access to cutting-edge technology through measures such as the chip act. It groundlessly accused China of intellectual property theft. The latest move was putting limitations on U.S. investment in China’s high-tech sectors. If there is any validity in these rule-defying attempts, it only proves that innovation is becoming increasingly important in today’s world. Official data shows that China’s spending on research and development reached US$427.5 billion in 2022, a 10.4% increase compared to the previous year, with double-digit growth observed annually since 2016. Furthermore, China is currently the largest electric vehicle market in the world and is experiencing a boom in artificial intelligence, with several Chinese tech firms including Baidu Inc. and SenseTime Group debuting their AI chatbots to the public. Economic bullying and technological blockades have inadvertently accelerated China’s innovation. Up against the critical need for tech self-sufficiency, as the New York Times said in a July article, “if any country can overcome such a challenge, it is likely to be China.” Wary of China’s progress, Washington has been attempting to form exclusive alliances such as the “CHIP4” and the “U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council,” using security cooperation as a guise. However, these maneuvers have the potential to jeopardize global technological collaboration. In the face of doubts from U.S. policymakers about the extension of the China-U.S. Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology, two Stanford professors sent an open letter to the White House advocating for its renewal. Within a week, over 1,000 U.S. scientists signed the letter. China’s progress is not achieved behind closed doors. The country has established technological cooperation with over 160 countries and regions and has membership in 200 international organizations and multilateral networks. The latest Nature Index for 2023 shows that Chinese authors play a crucial role in natural science research and, for the first time, China has surpassed the United States in the share of papers published in high-quality journals. While China continues to enhance its independent R&D capabilities, it also promotes global collaboration and allows the world to share in its technological progress. China was once the “world factory,” but the country is now well on its way to becoming a global hub for open innovation. (Xinhua) | 