At the recent 2026 Zhongguancun (ZGC) Forum Annual Conference, Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of the international tech magazine Wired, stated that China stands at the forefront of technological breakthroughs, including AI, and is poised to emerge as a truly “cool” benchmark that inspires the world.
This view captures something many see happening in China: fueled by a bold, pioneering spirit, China’s tech innovation is stepping up globally. It’s bringing fresh energy to the world’s innovation scene.
What makes China cool is its pioneering spirit to take the lead on the world stage.
There was a time when some outside China saw its innovation as mostly copying others. Not anymore. Look at the facts: China’s leading in electric vehicles, wowing the world with its large AI models, expanding our moon knowledge with the Chang’e-6 far-side samples, and breaking new ground with super-strong carbon fiber materials. More and more “Created in China” achievements are filling gaps in global tech.
The constant stream of innovative outcomes stems from long-term commitment and accumulated strength.
Sustained increases in research and development investment, expansion of the talent pool, and persistent efforts to overcome core key technologies have enabled successive “from zero to one” breakthroughs.
As a British media outlet observed, the power to define “original innovation” is quietly shifting east, and Western enterprises now find themselves needing to keep pace with China in innovation, production and standard-setting.
What makes China “cool” is also how widely and deeply its technologies integrate into daily life.
For instance, “swarm intelligence” dazzled at the 2026 ZGC Forum Annual Conference: robots running food stalls, robotic arms plucking strings and sewing needles, and augmented reality translation glasses enabling real-time interpretation across more than 100 languages and dialects. Attendees marveled that these technologies have been highly mature and have entered a stage of large-scale application.
China possesses the world’s largest, most comprehensive and complete manufacturing system. Coupled with the massive, diverse application scenarios nurtured by its ultra-large market, any proven technology can rapidly iterate, adapt to real-world settings and scale up production. Turning lab breakthroughs into everyday tools and blending cutting-edge science with practical uses — that’s a signature trait of Chinese innovation.
What makes China “cool” is also its commitment to openness and inclusive global sharing.
Scientific and technological progress is a global and epochal endeavor, and opening up and cooperation represent the only right path forward.
While certain countries are building “small yards, high fences” in an attempt to monopolize competitive advantages through technological blockades, China has remained committed to opening up and cooperation, blazing a new trail of bridging divides via open source and achieving win-win results through shared development.
Chinese photovoltaic products have reached Pakistan, meeting local residents’ basic household electricity needs, supporting agricultural production and empowering small businesses.
Applications of China’s BeiDou Satellite Navigation System have been deployed in Sri Lanka, enabling accurate weather monitoring and greatly boosting the efficiency of fishermen’s operations.
China has also opened 10 major national scientific research facilities to the world, turning its self-developed infrastructure into public goods for the benefit of all.
China’s practice demonstrates that the true value of scientific and technological innovation is not to let a handful of countries monopolize advantages, but to enable more people to share the benefits of technological progress and advancing common global development through inclusive technologies.
Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), China’s innovation blueprint is growing clearer. The country will accelerate high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology, foster new quality productive forces, intensify original innovation and core technological breakthroughs, expand the “AI+” initiative, and build a higher-level framework for international scientific cooperation.
A China that continues to advance original innovation, speed up industrial transformation, and expand opening up will bring even more “cool” technologies and broader opportunities to the world.
To jointly foster an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for scientific and technological progress, and to translate the dynamism of cutting-edge innovation into common well-being for all humanity — this is China’s firm commitment, and a shared path leading all countries toward common prosperity.
By He Yin
Source: People’s Daily
