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China’s leader, Xi Jinping, believes his vision of technological dominance will continue to drive the country’s as the West retreats.
By Chris Buckley
Even with faltering expansion in China, Xi Jinping seems imperiously confident that he has the right track record to outperform his Western rivals.
The Chinese economy has advanced at a slower pace. Its population is declining and aging. Its rival, the United States, has taken the lead in synthetic intelligence. Xi’s statement several years ago that “the East is rising and the West is declining” — that his country was emerging while U. S. strength was declining — is now premature, if not downright arrogant.
The problems have brought growing talk abroad that China could peak before it fully arrives as a superpower. But Mr. Xi seems unbowed in insisting that his policies, featuring extensive party control and state-led industrial investment in new sectors like electric vehicles and semiconductors, can secure China’s rise.
In a sign of confidence, his government announced last week that China’s economy is expected to grow by about 5% this year, roughly the same speed as last year, according to official statistics. And Xi is under pressure over his ambitions for a new era. of innovation-driven business growth, acting as if the setbacks of the past few years are an aberration.
“Faced with a technological revolution and industrial transformation, we must seize the opportunity,” he told delegates at China’s annual legislative meeting in Beijing, who were shown on television ardently applauding him.
He later told another group at the legislative session that China had to “win the battle for key core technologies,” and he told People’s Liberation Army officers to build up “strategic capabilities in emerging areas,” which, the officers indicated, included artificial intelligence, cyberoperations and space technology.
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