China unveils five-year plan with emphasis on technological dominance

The Chinese government has unveiled a five-year plan to accelerate the development of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In the economic plan presented at the annual meeting of the countrys lawmakers, officials said they would raise research and development spending by more than 7% annually through 2025.

The five-year plan lists seven strategic directions deemed important for “national security and overall development.” They include artificial intelligence, quantum computing, integrated circuits, genetic and biotechnological research, neurobiology and the aerospace industry.

Premier Li Keqiang. Data: Kevin Frayer, Getty Images.

China also plans to establish national laboratories and strengthen academic programs to incubate and support some of these technologies.

Prime Minister Li Keqiang said the government would review rules and policies to stimulate venture-capital flows into startups, loosen bank lending and expand tax incentives to spur research and development.

«Leadership in artificial intelligence and computing allows China to reap enormous benefits from hybrid warfare and data collection», – said Alex Capri, Senior Research Fellow at the Business School of the National University of Singapore.

He added that other advanced technologies will enable the country to expand its military potential in the Indo-Pacific region, play a leading role in the militarization of space, digital trade and commerce, and work on the ecosystem around digital currency.

In October 2019, Xi Jinping said that China should become a leader in blockchain, increase investments in the industry and integrate the technology into the real economy in tandem with AI, the Internet of Things and Big Data. Since then, activity related to blockchain has surged in China, and in 2020 the state Infrastructure Blockchain Platform (BSN) was launched to become the “internet of blockchains.”

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Another key component of Chinas technology strategy is the digital yuan. It is already being actively tested, while other countries are still developing concepts.

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In early March, the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence published a report with recommendations for business and government on preserving the country’s technological dominance, including vis-
-vis China. In the document, China is named as the main challenge to U.S. technological supremacy, which threatens economic and military power for the first time since the end of World War II.

In 2020, China also surged to the lead in the number of AI-related scientific publications.

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