Chang’e is the Chinese moon goddess. Named after her, the Chang’e-6 lunar module returned to Earth this June carrying 1,935.3 grams of rocks and dust from the far side of the moon.
A world first, the unique samples—more viscous and clumpier than previously collected lunar specimens—will be distributed globally for scientific analysis.
China’s lunar program, initiated in 2007 with the launch of Chang’e-1 to create a high-resolution 3D map of the moon’s surface, illustrates the country’s enviable ability to concentrate its efforts on major tasks.
This ability, President Xi Jinping has suggested, is one of the major advantages of China’s socialist system.
A major event
The results of China’s capacity to concentrate on major tasks are equally evident in its rapid transition from a rural economy to a global industrial power, in the successful elimination of extreme poverty, in building the world’s largest high-speed train system, and in pursuing a fast transition to green energy.
It is apparent, too, in the transformation of China into a leading scientific nation. As recently as 2019, London-based The Economist magazine asked whether China could become a scientific superpower. This June, it concluded: “Today, that question has been unequivocally answered: ‘Yes’.”
And this is why the recently held Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is so important. The Central Committee, elected by the quinquennial National Congress, is, after the congress itself, the Party’s top decision-making body.
This year, the third plenary session introduced major policy initiatives with an eye on the future.
Many third plenums have become waypoints delineating China’s progress and relationship with the world. The 1978 third plenary session laid the foundations for the reform and opening-up policy. The 1993 plenum announced the liberalization of the yuan while emphasizing a socialist market economy. Those in 1998 and 2008 focused on agriculture and consequently contributed to the eradication of rural poverty and to establishing China as the world leader in agricultural science. The 2013 plenum introduced the strategy of the comprehensive deepening of reform.
The recent plenary session focused on deepening reform placing science and technology at the heart of the high-quality development that China intends to achieve. As the official communiqué stated: “We must fully implement the strategy of invigorating China through science and education, the strategy of developing a quality workforce, and the innovation-driven development strategy, make coordinated efforts to promote integrated reform of institutions and mechanisms of education, science and technology, and human resources, and improve the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide to make key technological breakthroughs.”
Science-based
It is noteworthy that China has scientists at the center of governance, with several members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee being eminent scientists.
Among them are Ma Xingrui and Yuan Jiajun, who were respectively chief commander of the Chang’e-3 program that successfully placed a lander on the moon in 2010, which is still operational today, and chief commander of the Shenzhou spacecraft in China’s national manned space program. Both scientists hold executive positions that enable science to directly inform policy decisions.
The Central Science and Technology Commission, established in 2023, promotes science-based innovation as the driving force of China’s new development model. Headed by Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, an engineer, it ensures that the efforts of ministries, research institutes and industries focus on transforming scientific excellence into practical applications.
Exploiting its lead in frontier technologies and the digital economy, China can successfully transition to become a high-income country, avoiding the “middle-income trap” that has prevented further development in many other countries. Equally, science-led, high-quality development must be sustainable, low-carbon and green. This will need to be supported by innovative fiscal, investment and pricing regimes, and by enhanced ecological protection compensation schemes.
To adopt the poetic language of the plenary session’s communiqué, “We must improve ecological conservation systems, make concerted efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, pursue green development and boost economic growth, actively respond to climate change, and move faster to improve the systems and mechanisms for applying the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”
China intends to avoid mistakes made by other countries that have hollowed out traditional industries. Around 30 percent of global manufacturing output is currently contributed by China, which leads the world in two fifths of the major categories of industrial products. It is imperative for enterprises in these sectors either to adopt advanced technologies to remain competitive or to transform when upgrading proves impossible. China’s ability to facilitate such transitions rests on its unique ability to combine effective government with the efficient use of market forces.
The country’s response to the new information revolution is not aided by those insistent on global leadership and fearful of fair competition. The U.S. has imposed export controls, financial sanctions and inbound and outbound investment screenings that are narrowly focused on Chinese technology.
In contrast, China’s opening up has always been seen as a two-way opportunity. Vice Premier Ding reiterated this when addressing the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum in April. China, he emphasized, was keen to work with others to put into action the principles of “open, fair, just and non-discriminatory” international cooperation in science and technology, fostering a global scientific community.
Similarly, the third plenary session articulated aspirations to “steadily expand institutional opening up, deepen the foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment, improve planning for regional opening up, and refine the mechanisms for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.”
Small steps, giant leap
While a lack of international cooperation would slow learning and hold back global development, informed commentators recognize that it could eventually strengthen the Chinese economy.
In 2018, for example, China needed to import 35 key technologies but, when threatened, these so-called “chokepoints” can be addressed. Seven times more STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students graduate in China annually than in the U.S., and thousands of Chinese scientists working abroad could be welcomed home. As The Economist noted, “Even Huawei has prospered despite foreign sanctions.”
Scientists might study science for science’s sake. However, the ultimate goal of China’s development and reform is to meet people’s aspirations for better quality of life. President Xi stressed this when speaking at a symposium of business leaders and academics in Jinan, Shandong Province, in May. He drew attention to the pressing concerns and aspirations of the general public concerning employment, income growth, education, healthcare, housing, government services, childcare, elderly care, personal safety, and property security.
These pressing concerns mean that action is required while the new information revolution is still unfolding. Development must generate more high-quality employment, create better entrepreneurial opportunities, be more inclusive, and reduce regional and urban-rural disparities.
New wealth generated through technological advances should be fairly distributed, with better access to education and public healthcare, and more comprehensive social security. Those newly arriving in cities should be better integrated and rural dwellers should be able to share in China’s growing prosperity through economic revitalization and improved service provision.
The legacy of this year’s third plenary session may be its response to the pressing concerns identified by Xi. It pledged to: “improve the institutions and mechanisms for advancing new urbanization, consolidate and improve the basic rural operation system, […] improve the income distribution system, the employment-first policy, and the social security system, further reform the medical and healthcare systems, and improve the systems for facilitating population development and providing related services.”
Science and technology are tools for realizing greater goals. Reaching the moon is merely a step toward achieving common prosperity. –The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
