The world’s most innovative country
Sign up for free here to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Saturday. You’ll also get our weekly newsletter with an exclusive introduction from our editor-in-chief.
In 2007 I made my first trip to China to report on its vast technological ambitions. It was a daunting task. Even some of the country’s older innovations defeated me. In Shanghai, I made the classic mistake of biting too greedily into a soup dumpling, squirting warm juice across the table.
A year earlier China’s government had unveiled a 15-year plan to make the country an “innovation-oriented society” by 2020. In many ways it has succeeded. China now ranks 11th on the Global Innovation Index, an amalgam of 78 indicators published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, far higher than you would expect for a middle-income economy. You can see where your own country stands here. The two most innovative countries may surprise you.
China has hit some bumps along the way. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba whom I interviewed in 2007, lost favour with China’s leaders; WuXi AppTec, a pharmaceutical firm I visited on the same trip, has been accused of mishandling American intellectual property; and Suntech, a renewable-energy firm I also visited, was ruined in 2013 by a glut of solar panels. At least Shanghai’s dumplings are as enticing as ever.
Simon Cox, China economics editor
Recommended reads
A ranking of 133 countries shows that the global innovation boom is stalling
It will take a lot more to win back their broken hearts
Recommended by LinkedIn
How the country revived its go-getting spirit
America, China and the battle for supremacy
The continent needs investment on a par with the Marshall Plan and a lot more innovation, says the former central banker
Its development will be unlike China’s or America’s
They are becoming more capable, easier to program and better at explaining themselves
Polícia chefe
1moAmei
Polícia chefe
1mo✌️
OK Boštjan Dolinšek
Retired 1/1/2021 operator Port Authority of Allegheny County Always looking for new Challenges
1moInsightful
Especialista em OKR | Gestão Estratégica de Resultados | Gestão de Projetos e Portfólio
1moA China agora ocupa o 11º lugar no Índice Global de Inovação. O que demonstra resiliência ao manter seu foco em inovação, mesmo diante de crises em empresas e dificuldades com propriedade intelectual. Esse tipo de resiliência não é apenas insistência, mas também a capacidade de corrigir a rota e aprender – uma abordagem fundamental para qualquer país ou empresa comprometido em obter resultados sustentáveis e crescimento a longo prazo.