He Weiwen, senior fellow from the Center for China and Globalization. Photo: GT

China needs to widely apply advanced technologies including artificial intelligence, big data and quantum computing throughout its economy in order to achieve Chinese modernization, as traditional path of industrial modernization may not be sufficient for China given the country's large population, He Weiwen, senior fellow from the Center for China and Globalization, said at the 2024 Global Times Annual Conference held on Saturday in Beijing.

He said the rules and common characteristics of modernization also applies to China, adding that the country will follow the path of greatly increasing production capacity by using advanced technologies to make the country's economy, production and living standard lead the world.

China's GDP per capita was only $12,720 in 2022, and the level needs to reach $30,000 as China strives to become a moderately developed country. In order to achieve this target, China needs to double the country's labor productivity per person, for which, we cannot rely only on industry but also advanced technologies, He said.

China has access to vibrant domestic market and international markets. Domestically, we need to strengthen independent research and development while continuously enhancing high-level opening-up to attract good resources from the world and win in the global market, He said.

Amid challenges of geopolitical segmentation and geoeconomic fragmentation and bloc-based division, we should firmly commit to opening-up and actively boost globalization in order to make breakthroughs in Chinese modernization over the next five to 10 years, and even longer period, He said.

Whether the Chinese economy can reach 5 percent growth in 2024 depends on three factors, He said. "I believe the economy will gradually return to a normal growth trend, if challenges such as a lack of effective demand, overcapacity in some industries, fluctuating consumer sentiment and hidden risks can be eased, the country's supply-side structural reforms and tech innovations must continue to make progress while the external environment stabilizes," he said.

Themed under the topic: "Following the Path of Chinese Modernization: Coping with Changes Unseen in a Century," the Global Times Annual Conference attracted over a hundred authoritative figures, experts, and scholars from politics, academia, and business sectors from both China and abroad.