After launching reform and opening up in 1978, China saw its manufacturing sector expand rapidly, soon becoming a major global supplier of diverse consumer products ranging from clothes and furniture to home appliances.

Now, the world's factory is moving up the industrial ladder. Driven by innovation, China's manufacturing industry has been transitioning from producing labor-intensive products to high value-added ones. This transformation is an indication that the Chinese economy is entering a new stage of high-quality development, a shift toward a more efficient and sustainable mode of economic growth.

A new philosophy calling for innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development was introduced during the Fifth Plenum of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in 2015. As the country's governing Party, the CPC sets out policy priorities based on extensive research and consultations at its national congress every five years and central committee plenary sessions, usually held once a year.

Innovation has since been placed at the top of the national agenda. From the "new trio" of electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, to artificial intelligence (AI), China is a key player in the ongoing wave of technological revolution. It has built the world's largest 5G, or fifth-generation telecommunication, network. It has the potential not only to support data transfer at ultrafast speeds, but also to transform people's lives with conveniences such as autonomous driving. Flying cars, electric vehicles capable of vertical takeoff and landing that once existed only in science fiction, are becoming a reality. General-purpose humanoid robots with AI brains are close to being mass produced, and can be used in an array of scenarios including industrial production and household service. And the list goes on...

In recent years, China's research and development spending has maintained steady growth. By 2023, the proportion of this expenditure to GDP had risen to 2.64 percent, up from 1.91 percent in 2012. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, China ranked 12th on the Global Innovation Index 2023, the highest among middle-income countries.

As it breaks new ground in the industries of tomorrow, China will use its technological prowess for the benefit of humanity and share opportunities that emerge with the rest of the world.