Innovation-powered growth is essential if China is to avoid being left behind in the technological revolution

At a group study session of the central leadership in September, Party leader Xi Jinping stressed that the implementation of the strategy of innovation-driven development will decide the future of the Chinese nation. He urged the Party and society to grasp the trend of global science and technological innovation and seize the opportunities offered by the technological revolution and implement innovation-driven development as a key strategy for the future.

Indeed, China has come to a stage of development that commands innovation-powered growth. The more developed an economy becomes, the bigger the contribution knowledge and technology make to its growth. Thanks to the 30-plus years of reform and opening-up, China's GDP per capita, once ranked low worldwide, rose to about $6,100 in 2012, signifying it is time to make the transition from capital and resources-driven growth to innovation-motivated growth.