Troubled by sanctions, Xi Jinping wants China to be self-reliant in tech, food production

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged his countrymen to speed up science and technology development in the backdrop of sanctions and other trade concerns to ensure greater self-reliance. Xi made the statement at the closed-door meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on Sunday.

“To open up new areas and new arenas in development and foster new growth drivers and new strengths in face of fierce international competition, China should ultimately rely on scientific and technological innovation,” he said, according to a readout issued by the state media.

The annual meeting of the Chinese parliament that runs concurrently with Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP)advisory board began on Sunday and is expected to last until the next week.

The main consensus to come out of the meeting was to set up a robust manufacturing environment and a dependable food grain supply that is not affected by international markets.

The draft budget figures issued by the Chinese state media showed that the government had increased the funding for stockpiling grain and other food items by more than 13 per cent.

With the US imposing restrictions on Chinese access to semiconductors and AI technology and issuing restrictions on some Chinese companies, Xi is attempting to change the tide through his 'self-reliance' call.

Last year in October, the US announced sweeping export controls on advanced, high-performance computing chips to China.

Citing the reason for the move, the commerce department said it was aimed to prevent 'sensitive technologies with military applications from being acquired by China's intelligence and security services.

In the immediate aftermath, Beijing lashed out and criticised Washington for its malicious block.

“Out of the need to maintain its sci-tech hegemony, the US abuses export control measures to maliciously block and suppress Chinese companies,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

“It will not only damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also affect American companies’ interests,” she added.

The last couple of years have been damagingfor the tech sector in China. Taking an authoritarian approach, Xi has come after the likes of Alibaba founder Jack Ma and other tech behemoths as they failed to toe his line.

The volta-face by Xi is an attempt to arrest the slide and ensure that the tech sector remains on the ascendency, according to experts.

(With inputs from agencies)

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