For many educated professionals in urban China, the government's plan to make China a world leader in scientific research and technological innovation is not mere government propaganda.
China’s political leaders and social elites have long argued that stale scientific and technological development was a key reason why the country lagged behind the West, since suffering defeat in the first Opium War in the mid-19th century. Techno-scientific development became tethered to national security and economic growth, especially to reduce dependence on imports, pursue exports and capitalise on increasingly global value chains and shift China beyond its status as ‘the world’s factory’.
Granted, the Chinese people have been repeatedly exposed to this narrative through decades of formal education and official media, but there is more to it. This narrative provides the language for them to think about and make sense of the economic and technological practices in their daily lives.
