A fresh look at China's innovation boom

As the first quarter of 2025 unfolds, China's innovation landscape reveals compelling patterns through three distinct regional narratives. The eastern tech stronghold of Hangzhou continues its ascendancy, while central China's Henan province emerges as an unexpected cradle of commercial innovation, and western regions demonstrate growing cultural influence through cinematic achievements.

Hangzhou's tech corridor now hosts Game Science, the visionary studio behind the global gaming phenomenon Black Myth: Wukong, alongside robotics pioneer Unitree whose Spring Festival Gala performance became a national talking point. This eastern metropolis nurtures enterprises that blend technological prowess with cultural resonance.

Consumers line up before a Pangdonglai supermarket in Xuchang, central China's Henan province, Dec. 8, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Wang Zirui)

Henan's commercial sector has undergone a significant evolution, exemplified by Pangdonglai. Once a regional player, the Xuchang-based retail complex attracted millions of tourist visits within three days during this year's Spring Festival. This retail revolution accompanies the national expansion of homegrown brands like Mixue Bingcheng and Guoquan Shihui, challenging conventional wisdom about innovation geography.

Ne Zha 2, the animated sequel from China, has shattered multiple box office records, securing its place as the first Asian cinematic work to rank among the world's top ten highest-grossing films. This historic achievement underscores the robust animation ecosystem and profound cultural legacy of Chengdu, Sichuan province—the film's production hub. Once a regional cultural cornerstone, Chengdu is rapidly emerging as a pivotal player in the global creative economy, driven by its fusion of technological innovation and heritage-inspired storytelling.

These regional trajectories collectively sketch an evolving national innovation map where eastern tech dominance now faces vibrant challenges from central commercial innovators and western cultural producers. The emerging paradigm suggests China's next development phase may be characterized not by singular hubs, but by a networked ecosystem of specialized regional competencies driving multidimensional growth.

So, what's fueling this wave of breakthroughs?

Some point to the power of curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit. Neither Feng Ji, the mastermind behind Black Myth: Wukong, nor Jiaozi, the director of Ne Zha 2, had formal training in their respective fields. Yet, driven by passion and curiosity, they broke boundaries, crossed disciplines, and remained deeply committed to their craft.

A girl shakes hands with a humanoid robot at the Nanjing International Expo Center in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province, Feb. 15, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Li Wenbao)

Equally critical is the symbiosis between government policies and private enterprises. In tech hubs like Hangzhou, government officials routinely collaborate with investment executives during on-site consultations, fast-tracking resource allocation and regulatory support for fledgling firms.

Long-term vision and an open, inclusive innovation environment have also played a key role. Hangzhou, for example, allows government-guided funds to sustain loss ratios of up to 30 percent, deploying tolerant capital reserves to catalyze private-sector participation. This long-horizon approach fosters ecosystems where experimental ideas mature without impediment.

Viewed holistically, these developments signal not serendipity but structural maturation. Parallel strides in industrial infrastructure, cutting-edge R&D, human capital, and market environment have collectively elevated the nation's innovative capacity. The result is a self-reinforcing cycle: China's innovation "water table" rises, drawing global enterprises to its fertile ground.

China boasts the world's largest talent pool. Annually, over 5 million STEM graduates are recorded in the nation — forging a strategic reservoir for impressive innovation.

The nation's integrated consumer ecosystem compounds this advantage. A unified national market—spanning 1.4 billion consumers—enables frictionless scaling of viable innovations. As more hidden barriers have been removed, commercialized R&D achieves exponential scalability.

Citizen take photos of a set of toys themed with the movie Ne Zha 2 at the flagship store of Pop Mart in Shanghai. (People's Daily Online/Wang Chu)

Critically, next-generation infrastructure acts as force multiplier. With 1.1 billion internet users and 5G coverage surpassing 60 percent, China's integrated development between digital economy and real economy creates a global testbed for emerging industries.

Meanwhile, China's institutional framework continues to mature. The socialist market economy has become more efficient, fostering a culture that values innovation and tolerates trial and error. The country not only leverages the advantages of pooling resources behind major undertakings but also embraces the flexibility and diversity of market-driven experimentation.

With talent to drive innovation, markets to reward it, application scenarios to support it, and institutional advantages to safeguard it, China has created an ecosystem where innovation flourishes.

Looking ahead, the vast potential of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies will inspire more pioneers to explore uncharted territories. The wealth creation effect of China's massive market will encourage bold new ideas. And in the years to come, even more groundbreaking innovations and compelling stories from China will captivate the world.