Breakthroughs confirm China's rise as a global high-tech player

Outstripping competition

According to Nature, China now boasts more researchers than the United States, outspends the European Union in research and development and "is on track to best all other nations in its yearly production of scientific papers".

Bai, from CAS, commented: "Important scientific work has mushroomed in China in recent years. It is the result of years of research and development. Policy guidance, financial support and continued efforts to deepen reform have all played parts in stimulating this vitality."

More important, according to analysts, scientific research has been efficiently commercialized, with China pouring large sums into the latter stages of the R&D process, during which discoveries are turned into products.

High-speed rail has been one of the most impressive areas of progress. In recent years, China has built the world's largest high-speed rail network and become a world leader in providing globally competitive high-speed products and services.

By 2020, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, which manufacturers the country's high-speed trains, is expected to supply new bullet trains with a maximum operating speed of 400 kilometers per hour to markets related to the Belt and Road Initiative. The new trains will also cut per passenger energy consumption by 10 percent, compared with trains that run at 350 km/h.

"Over the past few years, China has demonstrated its competitive edge in high-speed rail technology," said Wang Mengshu, a railway expert and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.