40 Years of Technological Innovation in China: A Review of the Four-Stage Climbing Track

This paper combs the landscapes of China’s technological innovation practice during the 40 years of reform and opening up, and describes it as “Four-Stage Climbing” that is, “Learning–Introducing–Supplying Stage” (LIS Stage), “Introducing–Imitating–Improving Stage” (III Stage), “Integrating–Boosting–Creating Stage” (IBC Stage), and the “Innovating–Iterating–Promoting Stage” (IIP Stage). It also explains the background of each stage and its specific innovation model. Furthermore, the paper emphasizes the main features, basic experiences and main lessons of China’s technological innovation practice during the past 40 years. This paper demonstrates that with the deepening of innovation-driven development, especially in the field of “Innovation Leads Development” which is valued by the country and industry, at this stage, it is urgent to pay closer attention to the following issues: first of all, the possible changes in mechanisms of international innovation competition and cooperation under the background of potential reconstruction for international governance; secondly, the occurrence and realization mechanism of Leading Scientific and Technological Innovation in the era of science and technology, as well as the structural and institutional mechanisms of the national innovation ecosystem, and also the ecological niche in which the future scientific innovation subject and technological innovation subject should be in the national innovation ecosystem; furthermore, the mechanism of innovation and development for “science-based industries”; last but not the least, the logical construction of innovation and development research under the Chinese context.