Wukong, Ne Zha, DeepSeek: China says external ‘suppression’ accelerates innovation
Tech and innovation take centre stage at the Two Sessions economic briefing in Beijing, as China outlines steps to grow its economy amid grim global landscape.
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BEIJING/SINGAPORE: External “suppression” will only further accelerate China’s push for innovation in 2025, say top Chinese economic officials, citing recent successes like Chinese blockbuster video game Black Myth: Wukong, DeepSeek’s R1 chatbot and animated film Ne Zha 2 which shattered global box office records.
“Some forces seek to suppress and block us, but this will only accelerate our pace of independent innovation and drive us to upgrade even faster,” said Zheng Shanjie, director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), during a press conference on Thursday (Mar 6).
Zheng did not elaborate or identify external forces he was referring to, but Beijing has been embroiled in a worsening trade war with the US.
China will also set up a new “national venture capital guidance fund” to support tech startups as well as sectors like AI and quantum technology.
The fund is expected to attract local government and private investments of up to 1 trillion yuan (US$138.15 billion).
Technology dominated discussion at the Two Sessions economic briefing, which was also attended by leaders of the ministries of finance and commerce, China’s central bank and its securities regulator.
Amid a grim global landscape, China is banking on new growth drivers as it lays out plans to achieve its GDP target of “around 5 per cent” this year.
NEW PRODUCTIVE FORCES
“New productive forces” - a term introduced by President Xi Jinping in 2023 - refers to key sectors like electric vehicles (EVs), drones, solar panel production and high-speed rail projects.
Fostering and expanding new productive forces will be a long-term and complex endeavour, Zheng said, but the country has a clear roadmap which would focus on “funding, talent, and ecosystem growth”.
“Many scenes we once saw in science fiction movies have become reality,” Zheng said.
“China is steadily moving towards the forefront of global scientific and technological innovation.”
Also speaking at Thursday’s press conference was Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, who made mentions of Chinese titles that had brought Chinese tech and film companies “onto the international stage”.
“DeepSeek gained attention for its low-cost, high-performance open-source model, which has lowered the global barrier to technology adoption,” Wang said.
“Additionally, games like Black Myth: Wukong and Ne Zha have played a role in expanding the reach of China’s gaming and film industries in international markets.”
China’s trade in services reached a record 7.5 trillion yuan in 2024, and will be an important growth engine in 2025.
BOOSTING DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION
Referring to the tariff war with the US, Wang said that threats would not work on Beijing, asserting that “China won’t be cowed”.
Meanwhile, policymakers are doubling down on boosting domestic demand to drive growth, amid a potential drop in tariff-sensitive exports.
Total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 48.3 trillion yuan last year, increasing by 3.5 per cent, Wang shared during Thursday’s economic briefing.
“(This) confirms that consumption remains the primary engine of economic growth,” he said, also noting that service retail sales had become an increasingly vital contributor, growing by 6.2 per cent.
He also talked about the government’s consumer goods trade-in programme, which offers subsidies when consumers replace outdated products like household appliances with newer and more environmentally friendly items.
“The programme is not only an economic policy but also a measure that benefits people’s livelihoods,” Wang said.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday said “domestic demand is the main engine and anchor of economic growth”.
“Boosting consumption is not only an important way to expand domestic demand and stabilise growth, but also a major measure to transform our development model in the mid-to-long term,” he added.
Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an announced that China would introduce new fiscal interest subsidy policies on certain loans to ease financial burdens.
The measures are designed to reduce financial pressure on individuals and lower financing costs for businesses to further stimulate consumption, Lan said, and would target personal consumer loans in areas like hospitality, healthcare, elderly care, childcare, and domestic services.
