China’s Endless Frontier: “Organized Scientific Research” and the Quest for Technological Self-Reliance
In this policy brief, Michael Laha, a Berlin-based analyst, explores the Chinese Ministry of Education’s new program called “organized scientific research,” which seeks to address shortcomings in China’s innovation ecosystem and channel research resources toward strategically relevant sectors while maintaining space for free scientific exploration.
DownloadChinese President Xi Jinping has advocated for scientific and technological self-reliance amid increasing global tensions over emerging technologies. So far though, reforms to China’s innovation ecosystem have fallen short of the goal of developing domestic versions of many of the technologies at the center of U.S.-China competition. In this policy brief, Michael Laha, a Berlin-based analyst and former German Chancellor Fellow at MERICS, explores the Chinese Ministry of Education’s new program called “organized scientific research,” which seeks to address this shortcoming. In so doing, the ministry aims to channel research resources toward strategically relevant sectors—especially those susceptible to U.S. restrictions—while maintaining space for free scientific exploration.
This brief is part of a special series organized jointly by the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) and the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS). This analysis was originally presented at the Conference on the Chinese National Innovation and Techno-Industrial Ecosystems in Berlin, September 5–6, 2023.
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