China’s Development Focus in “Two Sessions”

In this year’s “two sessions,” the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and the top political advisory body,  Chinese President Xi Jinping took part in deliberations with deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) from Jiangsu Province in east China for the third consecutive year. He also attended the joint meeting of national political advisors from the China Democratic League, the China Association for Promoting Democracy, and the education sector.

During these discussions, Xi emphasized the critical role of technological innovation and industrial innovation in driving development and urged national economic powerhouses like Jiangsu to take the lead in national development. With 2025 marking the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, his message carries particular urgency as China navigates an increasingly complex global landscape.

Scientific and technological innovation

China’s push for innovation has yielded remarkable results. The open-source AI model DeepSeek R1 demonstrates China’s ability to develop cutting-edge technology at reduced costs. The Chang’e-6 probe achieved a historic milestone by bringing lunar samples from the moon’s far side – an unprecedented feat in human space exploration. The successful commercial voyage of Adora Magic City, China’s first domestically-built large cruise ship, highlights advancements in high-end manufacturing. These breakthroughs reflect China’s growing technological self-reliance and capability to lead in global innovation.

These achievements stem from a strong commitment to innovation. At a symposium on private enterprises in February, of the six representatives who spoke, five were from tech enterprises, including BYD, Xiaomi, and Unitree Robotics. Xi urged them to contribute more to scientific and technological innovation, cultivating new quality productive forces, and modernizing the industrial system.

Last year, when he had taken part in deliberations with fellow lawmakers from Jiangsu during the second session of the 14th NPC, Xi had stressed developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions.

This year, when attending deliberations with Jiangsu lawmakers again during the third session of the 14th NPC on March 5, he said technological innovation and industrial innovation constituted the fundamental pathways for developing new quality productive forces.

He asked Xu Guanghui, an NPC deputy and director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology, how much the province allocates to innovation. Xu answered, “The Jiangsu government’s investment in technological innovation increased from RMB 67.8 billion in 2022 to RMB 78.8 billion in 2024, a growth of 16.2 percent.” The figure indicates how Jiangsu is utilizing innovation to drive its development.

More specifically, regarding technological innovation, Xi said that to advance technological innovation, it is essential to modernize the industrial system and coordinate education, science and technology, and talent cultivation. There should be more sci-tech advances and they should be turned into concrete productive forces.

In terms of industrial innovation, he said to drive industrial innovation, it is essential to uphold the foundation of the real economy, ensuring a balanced approach between upgrading traditional industries and developing strategic emerging industries and future industries.

The remarks echo what Xi indicated on his inspection trips. For example, during his tour to northeast China’s Liaoning Province in January 2025, Xi visited a cold rolling mill of the Bensteel Group in Benxi. At the control center, he learned about the operation of the intelligent integrated control system and inquired about the cold rolling process, technological innovation, and product performance in the workshops.

Calling the steel industry an important basic industry of the country, he urged the manufacturing industry to follow “high-end, intelligent, and green development, continuously enhancing the technological content and added value of its products.”

Later, Xi told local officials, “The key to fostering and expanding strategic emerging industries lies in strengthening the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation while developing new quality productive forces based on local conditions.”

On other inspection trips, he constantly called for local governments to pay attention to technological innovation and industrial innovation. In March 2024, he told officials from Hunan Province in central China that scientific and technological innovation is the core element in developing new quality productive forces, and urged greater efforts to leverage technological innovation to drive industrial innovation. 

In October 2024, he called on officials from Fujian Province in east China to explore new ways for the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. These remarks show Xi’s emphasis on technological innovation and industrial innovation.

Progress inseparable from education

China’s scientific and technological advancement is inseparable from its efforts to improve education. While meeting national political advisors from the China Democratic League, the China Association for Promoting Democracy, and the education sector, who were attending the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Xi stressed strengthening the role of education in supporting scientific and technological advancement as well as talent development.

 “To achieve a sound interaction between independent sci-tech innovation and self-reliant talent training, education must further play its fundamental and leading role in supporting such cause,” he said.

Zheng Jiajian, a member of the 14th CPPCC and president of Fujian Normal University, said from the report of the 20th CPC National Congress in 2022 to the resolution adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in 2024, the concept of promoting integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent has been consistently emphasized. “We must further deepen reform comprehensively to invigorate higher education and provide strong support for Chinese modernization,” Zheng added.

At the National Conference on Education in September 2024, Xi called for coordinated implementation of the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the workforce development strategy, and the innovation-driven development strategy. “Education development, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation should be promoted as an integrated effort,” he said.

Such instructions are reflected in this year’s Report on the Work of the Government, which reads: “We should stay committed to innovation-driven development and make integrated progress in education, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation so as to consolidate the foundational and strategic underpinning for Chinese modernization.”

On the sidelines of this year’s “two sessions,” Huai Jinpeng, Chinese Minister of Education (MoE), said, “DeepSeek and (Chinese) robots have recently attracted widespread attention both domestically and internationally, which reflects the achievements of China’s technological innovation and talent development.”

He added that the MoE will launch strategic actions to accelerate and strengthen talent cultivation to serve national strategies and technological development. This includes optimizing discipline structures based on the needs of national strategic and technological development, promoting talent cultivation in emerging and interdisciplinary fields, enhancing talent cultivation following the patterns of technological revolution and industrial transformation, and accelerating the development of disciplines in areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, new energy, and new materials.

The 2024-2035 master plan to build China into a leading country in education was issued in January 2025 to establish a coordinated mechanism for integrated advancement of education, technology, and talent as well as strengthen the supportive role of education in technology and talent development.

Recently, many prestigious higher education institutions in China, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Wuhan University, have announced plans to increase enrollment of undergraduate students, mainly for majors in frontier fields. This is another concrete step to drive scientific and technological development through education.

An ‘exemplary’ role for Jiangsu

At the deliberations with the Jiangsu delegation, Xi stressed that major provinces with faster economic growth should blaze a new trail and play an exemplary role in promoting common prosperity, urging Jiangsu to play a major role in national development. 

Xi gives great weight to Jiangsu. In July 2023, when he visited the province, he lauded its solid industrial foundation, rich scientific and educational resources, sound business environment, and huge market size. He urged the province to set an example in advancing Chinese modernization.

An economic powerhouse, Jiangsu’s total GDP ranked second in the country in 2024. According to the 2025 Jiangsu government work report, in 2024, the provincial GDP reached RMB 13.7 trillion, growing by 5.8 percent, the largest increase nationwide. Jiangsu, with only 1 percent of the country’s land area and 6 percent of its population, contributes over 10 percent of the national economic output.

The province’s sci-tech industry demonstrates great strength. The number of high-tech enterprises exceeds 57,000, with the highest number of newly added unicorn and potential unicorn companies in China. A unicorn company is a private startup valued at over US $1 billion. 

Then 711 “little giant” companies that use special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products were added to this number, bringing the total to 2,215, ranking first in China on both counts.

Xi has given specific directions for Jiangsu, including taking the lead in integrating technological innovation with industrial innovation, advancing in-depth reform and high-standard opening-up, and implementing major national development strategies. Jiangsu should also set an example in pursuing common prosperity. 

It’s often said in China that some people and some regions should prosper before others so that they can help the underdeveloped regions catch up for common prosperity. With Xi’s guidance, Jiangsu is poised to pioneer new breakthroughs in science, technology, and industrial reform. Its success will not only drive regional prosperity but also serve as a blueprint for China’s broader modernization efforts in the years ahead.