China and the Knowledge Economy : Seizing the 21st Century

by Dahlman, Carl J.; Aubert, Jean-Eric

• ISBN13: 9780821350058
• ISBN10: 0821350056
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-09-01
• Publisher: World Bank

Summary

'China and the Knowledge Economy' was prepared by World Bank in collaboration with the Chinese government and leading academics. It argues that, in order to address the growing economic, social, and political pressures of the 21st Century, China will have to build solid foundations for a knowledge-based economy by updating the economic and institutional regime, upgrading education and learning, and building information infrastructure. China must also raise the technological level of the economy by diffusing new technologies actively throughout the economy, improving the research and development sytem, and exploiting global knowledge.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations and Currency equivalents	xiv
Executive Summary	xv
Catching up with the advanced countries	1	(8)
Daunting challenges ahead	2	(1)
Positioning China in the global knowledge revolution	3	(1)
Building the foundations for a knowledge economy	3	(1)
Using knowledge for China's development	3	(1)
Changing the role of government	4	(1)
Structure of the report	5	(2)
Notes	7	(2)
Part 1 Challenges to China's future	9	(40)
Ensuring China's development	11	(18)
Four continuing transformations	12	(3)
Four daunting challenges	15	(8)
The need for a new economic development strategy	23	(3)
Notes	26	(3)
Positioning China in the global knowledge revolution	29	(20)
The knowledge revolution and global competition	29	(2)
The growing importance of knowledge	31	(3)
What's going on worldwide? Global trends in knowledge	34	(4)
Assessing China's situation	38	(5)
Knowledge disparities across China	43	(2)
Notes	45	(4)
Part 2 Building the foundations of the knowledge economy	49	(52)
Updating economic incentives and institutions	51	(18)
Establishing a more formal and transparent rule of law	52	(3)
Strengthening competition and regulatory frameworks	55	(3)
Expanding the private sector	58	(2)
Reforming the state-owned enterprises	60	(2)
Strengthening social safety nets	62	(1)
Enhancing labor's flexibility	63	(1)
Strengthening the financial sector	64	(4)
Notes	68	(1)
Investing in China's human capital	69	(14)
Strategic goals and issues	70	(3)
Adapting basic education	73	(2)
Expanding higher education	75	(3)
Building a technology-based national learning framework	78	(1)
Establishing large retraining programs	79	(2)
Notes	81	(2)
Building the information infrastructure	83	(18)
Overview of China's ICT market	83	(2)
Regulating China's ICTs	85	(6)
Developing network infrastructure and information content	91	(2)
Developing effective e-commerce	93	(2)
Applying ICTs to enhance Chinese public services	95	(1)
Notes	96	(5)
Part 3 Raising the technological level of the economy	101	(66)
Diffusing technology throughout the economy	103	(18)
Technological weaknesses and disparities	103	(4)
Strengthening markets for technology dissemination	107	(1)
Redirecting technology-related policies	107	(2)
Redeploying government programs for technology diffusion	109	(4)
Stimulating innovation in enterprises	113	(2)
Promoting innovation sites and clusters	115	(3)
Notes	118	(3)
Improving the research and development system	121	(18)
Overview of China's R&D system	121	(3)
Changes in China's research and development system	124	(1)
Restructuring government research and development programs	125	(3)
Increasing support to basic and public-good research	128	(3)
Strengthening the contribution of higher education institutions	131	(3)
Stimulating research and development in the enterprise sector	134	(1)
Improving evaluation, foresight, and monitoring	135	(1)
Notes	136	(3)
Exploiting global knowledge	139	(16)
Attracting foreign direct investment	139	(7)
Engaging in international technology trade	146	(2)
International collaboration in research and scientific initiatives	148	(2)
Tapping Chinese talent abroad	150	(3)
Notes	153	(2)
Moving to action	155	(12)
Defining priorities and related budgets	156	(4)
Adopting a systemic approach, coordinated at the highest level	160	(1)
Mobilizing local governments	161	(1)
Multiplying experiments and evaluations	162	(2)
Conclusion	164	(1)
Notes	165	(2)
References	167