Find an online news article dated within the last 12 months that discusses a government involvement in innovation. Using this information in the article provide the following information: Provide a brief background of the news article. How will this innovation help the country’s citizens and the global economy? What are the negative elements involved with the innovation? Explain why you agree or disagree with the country’s involvement with the innovation.
As soon as I live in China, I decided that the article about this country’s government involvement in innovation will be the most interesting for me. The news article I found was posted in this February and is called “China’s local governments double down on innovation to drive growth”.
In this article, we can see that China’s government sees innovation as a key driver of growth. This country is still recovering from its zero-COVID policy, and while some provinces are still struggling with economic issues caused by it, some others – for example, Hubei Province – could reach as much as about $789 billion GDP last year (Xinhua, 2022). And in driving growth one of the most important roles was played by high-tech industries. Therefore, local governments have high expectations from innovations and new sectors such as AI.
It is also planned to use innovations and the digital economy to upgrade traditional industries, which can be very helpful for the country’s citizens and even the global economy. The local government in Chongqing Municipality is going to accelerate the change of production equipment and foster new smart factories. Another positive thing is that because of such pro-innovation policies, there is a boom in high-tech companies, and there are hundreds of new national-level small and medium-sized enterprises. This provides people with new jobs, as well as unquestionably affects GDP growth. Finally, innovation in different spheres can make citizens’ lives better in general. For example, having new medical equipment they will be able to more efficiently cure, and having new school equipment will make the study process more interesting and productive.
In fact, innovation is a good thing. It is difficult to find anything negative about it. However, it depends on what kind of innovation and at what times we speak. The article I mentioned discusses different types of innovation in different provinces and at different levels. Some special attention is paid to the metaverse and AI. To be honest, I believe that now it is not the right time to think about metaverses, even though the government is so excited about it. It is much more important to innovate equipment in hospitals, schools, and factories. The way China is trying to spread its efforts I see as a negative element involved. It reminds me of myself, who learns a little of this, a little of that, and a bit of another – and knows nothing well, in the end.
I strongly agree that the government should involve with innovation. It helps not only to meet local demand during the COVID pandemic but also lets companies export their products in a timely manner. Such support and involvement also encourage entrepreneurs to create new companies so that the country can become more competitive internationally. And what is more important for innovation than research? Nothing. It is hard to underestimate the importance of funding scientific research provided by the government.
References
Xinhua. (17 February, 2022). China’s local governments double down on innovation to drive growth. Retrieved from https://english.news.cn/20220217/db2a76b0733a4ee9a6ef9fa3829c5780/c.html