The report on the speech Xi delivered in Beijing said China will strive to “significantly increase economic strength, scientific and technological capabilities, and composite national strength, and raise per capita [gross domestic product] to equal that of a moderately developed nation.”
The report added that China will also strive to “join the ranks of the world’s most innovative countries, with great self-reliance and strength in science and technology.”
President Xi Jinping’s delivery of the highly anticipated work report Sunday during the opening ceremony of the 20th Party Congress came at a time when China is reassessing the international environment in the face of technological containment efforts by the United States and geopolitical conflicts, including the war between Russia and Ukraine.
China’s 2035 development targets are the first part of a two-stage goal to become a great modern socialist country.
The previous 2035 development vision, released along with the 14th Five-Year Plan for 2021-25 in March last year, focused on breakthroughs in some core technologies in key areas and becoming a pioneer in innovation.
However, the earlier 2035 goal of gaining a clear advantage in international competition was not mentioned in Sunday’s latest report.
“China is putting high technology at the forefront of all economic policies, reminiscent of the technology war the U.S. started with the,” said Iris Pang, ING chief economist for Greater China.