Technological innovation will drive China's sustained prosperity

On January 18th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post published an editorial titled "By Putting Technological Innovation First, China Can Continue to Advance on the Path of Growth". The article is compiled as follows:

Despite frequent challenges in achieving economic growth targets in recent years, resilience has become a hallmark of China's economic strength. According to the annual economic data just released by the National Bureau of Statistics, resilience will once again help the Chinese economy achieve good results in 2024

This has set a positive tone for the closing year of the 14th Five Year Plan and the formulation of the 15th Five Year Plan

Under the acceleration of economic growth and stimulus measures in the fourth quarter of last year, China achieved its annual growth target of 5%, which is a remarkable achievement. Not only that, but it also aligns with the country's strategic path

Manufacturing remains the engine of economic growth, especially in high-tech fields

This reflects the trend of funds and resources flowing from industries such as real estate to advanced manufacturing and high-tech fields. From this perspective, the goals of economic restructuring and industrial upgrading are gradually being achieved

So far, China's economic development has achieved its goals in both quality and quantity. In the coming year, there will be more challenges and more complex external factors, such as the possibility of the United States raising tariffs and intensifying its technology war under Donald Trump's presidency

The geopolitical situation remains tense, and the relationship between China and Europe remains highly challenging

In this environment, if China wants to achieve economic growth similar to 2024 in 2025, it needs to constantly promote innovation and loosen its grip. Specifically, China needs to continue boosting the confidence of private enterprises

China still needs to pay more attention to domestic consumption. The larger domestic market will provide firm support for economic growth in the coming years

Despite the challenges and uncertainties ahead, the latest data shows that China still maintains its development momentum. If China can maintain a growth target of around 5% in the next 10 years, its rise will be unstoppable

At the same time, although the number of newborns has finally rebounded in 2024 after 7 years of decline, the trend of aging population and decreasing total population is still worrying. But the good news is that the trend of aging is accompanied by the rise of artificial intelligence and robotics technology

The importance of knowledge and experience for economic development is surpassing mere physical labor. This may help partially offset the impact of aging

China is transitioning towards a growth model guided by new quality productivity, and in this process, it is bound to encounter some setbacks and difficulties. Nevertheless, China has made efforts to achieve a slight decrease in urban unemployment rate in 2024

The above situations all indicate that China should continue to prioritize the development of advanced science and technology, improve education levels, and seek a more balanced path of economic growth