China must accelerate the development of science and technology to ensure greater self-sufficiency, the country’s leader Xi Jinping said at the annual political meeting as Beijing becomes more isolated due to sanctions and other trade restrictions, according to reports from the Guardian and Reuters.

China’s technological progress is facing global competition and growing restrictions from foreign governments like the US, but the sector is also hampered by Beijing’s repression and control.

Speaking at a private meeting of the National People’s Congress on Sunday, Xi Jinping said that greater self-confidence and strength in science and technology is a way to promote “quality development” and build China as a “great modern socialist country.”

“In order to open up new fields and new areas of development and promote new growth drivers and new forces in the face of fierce international competition, China will ultimately have to rely on scientific and technological innovation,” he said, according to a state media report.

He called for more collaboration between Chinese industry, academia and research institutions to support “original and innovative research”.

The annual session of China’s parliament began on Sunday and will run until next week. Meeting –which takes place concurrently with the annual meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) advisory body, the so-called “two meetings”.– mostly held behind closed doors.

Among his concerns are US restrictions on China’s access to US semiconductor and artificial intelligence technologies for national security reasons, as well as foreign sanctions or restrictions on certain Chinese companies and officials on issues such as the repression in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, as well as signs of Russian support for his invasion of Ukraine. In response, Beijing condemned the imposition of sanctions.

On Monday, official state media reported what analysts had cited as a possible new political slogan of “two needs,” citing the production and reliable supply of grains and foodstuffs that are not vulnerable to international markets. The draft budget, released Sunday, notes a more than 13 percent increase in funding for the nation’s storage of grain and other essentials.

Xi’s comments on Monday were in line with an employment report delivered the day before by outgoing Prime Minister Li Keqiang, which called for better national resource mobilization in the sector.

The Ministry of Finance also announced a modest budget increase for the technology sector and accelerating the construction of strong technology infrastructure, including artificial intelligence, 5G and big data.

China’s tech industry has been the target of widespread government crackdown in recent years as the CCP has sought to rein in the increasingly independent sector and key figures such as Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

Dr. Ilaria Karotsa, senior fellow at the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, previously told the Guardian that the crackdown appears to have eased, “but I don’t think we should assume that they will now let companies do whatever they want.”

The CCP’s problems in maintaining control over the technology sector and the flow of information more broadly, as well as pushing for more innovation, have been seen in the fight to develop AI chatbots. The rise of the hugely popular ChatGPT in the US and its subsequent censorship in China has highlighted the difficulties Chinese tech companies face in developing their own software.

Science and Technology Minister Wang Zhigang said on Sunday that China should “wait and see” if it can achieve the same results as ChatGPT, adding that its ability to provide real-time results is “very elusive.”

Source: Guardian, Reuters.