BY: Oğuz Fırat
PEJOURNAL – China has undoubtedly been one of the few great countries that guided the world for the history of civilization. It has been an example to societies in all periods of the world in science, technology, art and literature. China was the center of science, especially in the Middle Ages.
With the widespread use of fire, gunpowder and compass, it has become at the forefront of the world level. However, these did not turn into industries due to China’s geopolitical position and administrative unit arising from the center-periphery relationship. It was the European states and Britain in the active war zone within the continent that transformed it into industry. In the beginning of the modern era, with the entry of Britain and France into China, Chinese emperors refused to adopt Western technology.
They found these technologies to be against them. In fact, there were those who wanted to take Western science in China. Kangxi, influenced by Western science, took astronomy, mathematics and biology sciences from Westerners when Western missionaries introduced its industry to China much earlier.
Chinese president Xi Jinping, on the other hand, is not only a statesman, but also an intellectual. While looking at the cause of backwardness in Chinese history, he took lessons from history and developed policies accordingly. Unlike China, Japan accepted western reforms in the 19th and 20th centuries, putting pressure on China after experiencing technological development. China was determined after dirty humiliations by Westerners. With Deng Xiaoping’s policy of opening up to the world, China has grown steadily.
But it produced USSR-based technology to grow its armed forces. But this did not save the situation much. It is necessary to mention the Special 301 Report published by the US Department of Commerce in 2006. In this report, the Ministry of Commerce publicly accused China of technology theft. This was the first accusation. China has grown steadily and Xi Jinping took the lead in 2012.
More Chinese youth were sent to Europe and America as Xi knew progress would be based on Western freedom and technique. 99.7% of these students returned home again. Despite the steady growth of China, Xi and Chinese rulers predicted that the country would fall into a growth and middle income trap. They have to deal with it in the medium or long term.
As for China’s technology policies, in terms of the number of bachelor’s degrees in basic sciences and engineering with the Chinese education system, it surpassed the USA in 2000 and the EU in 2003. Of course, it is useful not to be fooled because there is a huge population difference, but this is a success again for China. Between 2000 and 2016, it increased its R&D expenditures 10 times and its share in GDP was 2%. This rate is highest in South Korea with 5%, followed by Japan and America with 3-4%. With Xi Jinping, quality and productivity continued to increase.
The underlying goal of China’s research on space is cartography, agriculture and landscaping for the Chinese economy, as well as security and military intelligence. China sent the Chang’e-4 satellite to the Von Kármán crater, which is the invisible face of the moon from the earth on 3 January 2019. This took its place for the first time in space history. With this satellite, communication quality for space operations will be increased. Because, according to the report of the Pentagon’s intelligence agency DIA, China is accelerating its work in the space race.
China successfully launched the Tianwen-1 spacecraft to create added value for agriculture, forestry and landscaping in the country. China launched the satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on September 7, and the satellite to be used for land surveys, road design, and disaster prevention and mitigation began its missions. Particle Accelerator and Nuclear Physics at China will build 15 new compact reactors to increase its nuclear arsenal. This reactor will have an impact that combats global warming. These investments will also reduce foreign dependency in energy production.
If we come to 5G technology, which is perhaps the most important issue, China has invested $ 200 billion in this technology, but they can even earn trillions, because it will formally revolutionize the world. Investments made by China worked so well that 5G’s internet speed was up to 635 Mbps in Huawei phones. But it is not limited to this. 5G will also lead revolutions such as artificial intelligence and industry 4.0. The internet network required for Industry 4.0 can be provided with 5G.
For this reason, the intensity of production with robots will increase and economic efficiency and profit will increase more than ever. 5G’s benefits are not limited to this. Commercial speed has increased by working 24/7 with the automation port established in Shanghai. 350,000 base stations installed in the country expanded from Shanghai Port to the Taklamakan Desert. 5G will also be used for mandering in Luoyan city in Henan province. With the developed 5G-based software, precious metals will be detected and more business logic will bring extraordinary resources to the economy in a short time.
Like the USA, which has spread its social media networks and mobile phone brands to the world with 4G and 4G LTE, China will do the same. Currently, although China does this with ICBC, it is not as effective as this technological network. China will invest $ 1.4 trillion in semiconductor technology to avoid American domination in chips it will use for mobile phones and 5G base stations. In this way, they can provide cheap products for European phone manufacturers. China knows very well that those who dominate telecommunications will dominate intelligence. It wants to show hegemonic power by dominating intelligence and the seas.
China is also struggling to surpass America in quantum technology. Quantum occupies a large place in the innovation of the future world. China wants to use quantum technology to advance technology. With the first quantum satellite Micius, which China sent into space in August 2016, they showed the world that they could be the central country in quantum issue. China is also advancing DNA and RNA technology that will increase human biological power through robotic methods by investing in biotechnology. In addition to all this, China’s manpower, which reached its peak in 2011, will drop by 200 million by 2060. In other words, the decrease in this workforce will force China to automation.
Xi Jinping is increasing its investments in technology day by day in order to increase the motivation of the Chinese nation and to increase its effectiveness on a global scale, with lessons learned from history. The transition was gentlemanly when the capital that made England a superpower passed to the USA. However, this shift from the USA to China is likely to bring major showdowns.