As competition between China and the United States increasingly centers on technological and industrial capabilities, China should focus on leveraging its strengths of a super-large market while accelerating institutional reforms to enhance innovation capacity, said a senior economist.
The remarks came as China and the US agreed to build a relationship of "constructive strategic stability". This, analysts said, may have defined the competition between the world's two largest economies as a race in overall capabilities, rather than a simple push toward decoupling or containment, as the two sides are expected to pursue cooperation as the mainstay alongside moderate competition.
"The race between China and the US (on the technological front) is ultimately about who can better leverage strengths while addressing weaknesses to perform better in scale, efficiency and returns," Zhang Yansheng, an expert on global economic affairs, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily.
"China and the US may ultimately become two major engines driving the global AI revolution and industrial transformation," he said. "Competition, in this sense, can promote progress."
According to Zhang, China has achieved significant progress in the new wave of technological and industrial transformation on the back of its vast domestic market, shaping pronounced strengths in digital connectivity, application scenarios, as well as industrialization and engineering capabilities.
