China will step up its efforts to cultivate new drivers of growth in accordance with the requirements and arrangements from the annual Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing from Wednesday to Thursday in which the Chinese leadership decided priorities for the economic work in 2026, according to experts.
The meeting set out eight major tasks, ranging from boosting consumption and fostering innovation to advancing green transformation and improving people's livelihood.
Among other major takeaways, the meeting stressed the need to adhere to an innovation-driven approach and accelerate the cultivation and growth of new economic drivers.
"As we have the ability to innovate, we also have the ability to manufacture. Therefore, if we combine the two, we can comprehensively leverage our capabilities to build a new industrial system and a new industrial chain," said Zhu Min, a member of the Senior Expert Advisory Committee of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.
In 2025, China rose to the 10th position in the global innovation ranking, becoming one of the economies with the fastest increase in innovation capacity in over a decade.
The conference proposed to develop international technological innovation centers in Beijing (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region), Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta), and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
To provide impetus and guarantee for continuous innovation, the conference said that efforts will be made to further strengthen the role of enterprises as the main drivers of innovation and improve the intellectual property protection system in emerging fields.
"It highlights the construction of a regional innovation system, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. These are the three power zones or sources of high-quality growth, which can drive innovation across the entire country. It also mentions the protection of intellectual property rights related to technology, which targets solving key and unresolved problems while developing new productive forces and providing new impetus," said Huang Huiqun, a researcher at the Institute of Economics with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
As technology continues to evolve, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a key sector for fostering new drivers of growth. Efforts should be made to advance the AI Plus Initiative, improve AI governance and foster innovation in science and technology finance, according to the conference.
"AI is a new track for economic and technological development. It serves as a very important strategic opportunity for China. This year's economic work conference specifically mentioned AI Plus and improving the governance of AI, providing direction on how to ensure that technology is used for good and better serves people's livelihoods as well as the development of the economy and society," said Chen Binkai, vice president of Central University of Finance and Economics.
China to step up efforts to cultivate new growth drivers through innovation: experts
China to step up efforts to cultivate new growth drivers through innovation: experts
