Manufacturing, summed up in the ubiquitous catchphrase “made in China”, has been the backbone of China’s economy.
But the country has ambitions to become a leader in science and technology.
China has been infamous for its mimicry. It’s easy to pick up a wide variety of pirated goods, from DVDs and sneakers to fake iPhones. This copycat culture even extends to architecture - with small towns fashioned after those on the River Thames or on Venice.
Miniature replicas of the world’s most famous sights from the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Pyramids can be found as part of a bizarre trend known as the duplitecture movement.
It forms part of a cultural attitude that holds copying is a sign of respect.
But to grow its economy and create jobs for its huge population, China knows it has to innovate. The country is turning its focus to rebranding its tagline to “designed in China”.
In three years' time the government wants its science investment to make up 2.5% of GDP.
Factories which once made pants are designing aircraft parts. Cutting-edge medical research, such as transplanting pigs corneas to humans, is being done in what was once a fishing village.
This is part of a plan to make the world’s largest manufacturing base more technically advanced to maintain a competitive edge. China has made a serious investment in science research which has begun yielding results.
Chinese scientists are undertaking some of the world’s biggest experiments, rolling out the latest medical advances on a massive scale and pushing the boundaries of exploration in the ocean and space.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, pointed to this in his speech at the Communist Party of China’s recent national congress where he called on his countrymen to “make greater contributions to mankind”.
The party revised its charter, which is now referred to “Xi Jinping Thought”, making Xi an ideologue on a par with Mao.
His speech, punctuated with repetitive, often-used socialist phraseology, outlined the country’s achievements and goals. Xi called for “great energy” to be devoted to implementing an innovation-driven development strategy.
“We have seen much accomplished towards making China a country of innovators, with major advances made in science and technology.”
He cited examples including the Tiangong-2 space laboratory or Heavenly Palace 2, which forms part of China’s space programme to strengthen national security. While the US Defence Department has raised concerns about China’s increasing space activities, China insists its plans are peaceful even though it has tested anti-satellite missiles.
The country’s space programme also planned a return trip to the moon. It also includes the creation of a 500m aperture spherical telescope named Tianyan, meaning heavenly eye.
A dark matter probe satellite, Wukong, and the quantum science satellite Mozi orbit the Earth too.
China’s self-developed C919 passenger jet debuted this year and has been vaunted as the cornerstone of China’s soaring civil aviation ambitions, to compete with Boeing and Airbus.
Much research and development is being carried out in the ocean too. China has commissioned a deep sea manned submersible, Jiaolong, named after a mythical dragon. It can dive more than 7 000m, the greatest of any manned research vehicle.
Construction on islands and reefs in the South China Sea has seen steady progress.
But this has only fanned China’s involvement in territorial rows in these parts as it has a growing military presence there.
Geopolitical analysts say other countries fear China may be using marine technology to advance its control of disputed waters.
On the Chinese Academy of Science website, Xi summed up the vision for his country, “Great scientific and technological capacity is a must for China to be strong and for people’s lives to improve”, adding that the country and even humankind “won’t do without innovation, nor will it do if the innovation is carried out slowly.”
Lofty words but indications are that the country has a strong foothold in the global digital economy. China’s science and technology plans are thriving and already well on track.
Peters is the live editor of Weekend Argus. She is on a 10-month scholarship with the China Africa Press Centre. Instagram: mels_chinese_takeout