China’s lagging basic research demands core tech pivot as US curbs bite: economic adviser

China cannot merely chase the technological frontier – it must seize ownership of it, a prominent economist has warned, urging Beijing to accelerate basic research and master core technologies to gain leverage against Washington’s targeted restrictions.

“China can no longer play follower. The US won’t let it,” said Wang Yiming, vice-chairman of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a Beijing-based governmental think tank, noting that the United States’ “small yard, high fence” policy leaves China no choice but to take the lead.

Speaking at a seminar held by Peking University’s National School of Development on Sunday, Wang cautioned that the nation remains vulnerable.

“We still haven’t broken free from reliance on others for key core technologies because our ability to innovate from the ground up remains weak,” said Wang, who is also an adviser to the central bank and a former official at the top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission.

Wang argued that China needs to forge a leading position in strategic sectors that match the trajectory of the future. Achieving leadership in key technologies would give China the leverage to respond in kind if other countries threaten to cut off supplies, creating a deterrent that makes such threats far less likely, he said.

Wang’s remarks underscore Beijing’s intensifying push for technological self-reliance after a year of heightened tensions between China and the US, marked by American curbs on chip exports and retaliatory Chinese restrictions on critical minerals.