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Special Report: Innovation and Technology
Foreword: Zha Peixin
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In today’s world, science and technology are advancing in leaps and bounds with new breakthroughs, discoveries and inventions emerging on a daily basis. They are transforming into genuine productivity and driving the world forward at an unprecedented speed.
International co-operation in science and technology has become a trend of our times. No single country is capable of fulfilling the R&D of such big sciences as the research of human genes or nuclear fusion. If a country wants to keep its lead in science and technology, international co-operation is essential. Indeed, when mankind is faced with common challenges and when trans-boundary issues have become increasingly prominent, international co-operation in science and technology is all the more necessary.
Since 1978 China has achieved fast and sustained economic growth, in which science and technology play an indispensable role. There are still formidable challenges and difficulties in China’s drive to modernisation, the
solution of which will not be worked out without scientific and technological development.
China values progress in science and technology and has placed it high on the agenda of its economic and social development with the aim of turning China into an innovation-driven society.
China is ready to join hands with all the countries in the world, in a collaborative effort in science and technology.
It sincerely wishes to learn others’ advanced scientific knowledge as well as good practice; it also stands ready to share its own success and experience. Though countries in the world differ in their levels of science and technology, every one has its own strength and strong points as well as weakness. It is highly possible to complement each other through co-operation towards a win-win outcome for all.
Opportunity for co-operation does exist. The key is to adopt a proactive attitude in order to explore new channels, seek new mechanisms, innovate methods, scale up levels and enhance efficiency of co-operation so that by joint efforts we can create a better world for all and further improve the well-being of the whole of mankind.
Zha Peixin, Chinese ambassador to the UK. This foreword was contributed by Ambassador Zha before his return to China last month.
Foreword: Malcolm Wicks
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Innovation – the successful exploitation of new ideas – is central to the process of economic growth and improvements in our quality of life. Successful implementation of innovation policy has a positive impact upon UK productivity and improves the UK’s relative economic performance. Indeed, the UK government’s commitment to science and innovation accounts for half of the Department of Trade and Industry’s budget, some £3.5bn, a sum which has doubled over the past nine years.
It is the government’s long-term objective to raise knowledge intensity in the UK by increasing overall R&D spend to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2014 from its current level of around 1.9 per cent. The UK has the most efficient and productive research base in the world. With 1 per cent of the global population we produce 9 per cent of the world’s scientific publications, which receive 12 per cent of the scientific citations. It is also a vibrant and attractive place to study and research; just over a third of the PhD student population in the UK is from overseas.
However, we do not operate in isolation. Rapidly growing economies such as China and India have developed their S&I capacities over the past few years. The global importance of science and innovation is clear. In recent years its scale and significance have seen dramatic changes. Chinese R&D, for example, has been rising by 20 per cent a year over the past five years.
The pace of change and challenge shows no sign of slowing and making the links between research, innovation and wealth creation will be key to success. In 1980 less than a tenth of manufacturing exports came from the developing world. Today it is almost 30 per cent. In 20 years time it will probably be 50 per cent. Today, China alone is producing 70 per cent of the world’s photocopiers, half of its cameras, 40 per cent of microwaves and a quarter of textiles. With more than 70 per cent of our GDP coming from services and our focus on high value-added manufacturing and R&D, the UK is in a strong position to respond to the changing global economy positively and proactively.
Asian innovation opens opportunities as well as posing challenges. As their economies grow there will be new consumers to sell to and new partners to work with. There will be new opportunities for collaboration over global challenges, such as the environment. We have to be in the game (and encourage others to be in it too) moving the UK towards being central to global innovation networks.
China is a country where the UK is already active. We will continue to build on, and adapt collaborative models to develop our partnership with China to ensure they fully exploit our respective strengths and are sustainable long into the future.
Malcolm Wicks MP, is minister of state for science and innovation.
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