China must overcome tech ‘choke points’, People’s Daily warns, amid US tensions

The mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party has urged the nation to break through technological “choke points” and avoid becoming “subordinate to other nations” in a series spotlighting the country’s achievements in hi-tech industries.

The series of editorials comes as Beijing prepares to outline its next five-year plan and amid a renewed escalation in trade tensions with the United States.

“Only by keeping core technologies firmly in our own hands can we truly take the initiative in competition and development,” the People’s Daily said in the first instalment of the series on Monday.

“[We] must not become a technological subordinate to other nations or blindly follow in others’ footsteps, but instead stay firmly on the path of independent innovation.”

“Each breakthrough in a ‘choke-point’ technology and each ‘impossible’ made ‘achievable’ has strengthened society’s spirit of fearlessness and perseverance in the face of suppression,” the People’s Daily said in the commentary.

“It has fostered a collective belief and expectation that the greater the challenge, the bolder and more resolute we become.”