In 2007, the Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA) and one of its administrative zones, the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), in northeast China commissioned the RAND Corporation to perform a technology-foresight study to help them develop and implement a strategic vision and plan for economic growth through technological innovation. The principal objectives were to identify the most-promising emerging technology applications for TBNA and TEDA to pursue as part of their plan for growth, to analyze the drivers and barriers they would face in each case, and to recommend action pla.

China's Tianjin Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area commissioned a technology-foresight study to help them plan for economic growth. The authors recommend seven emerging technology applications (TAs)--solar energy, mobile communications, rapid bioassays, new water-purification systems, molecular-scale drugs, electric and hybrid vehicles, and green manufacturing--and describe drivers, barriers, and plans for each.

In 2007, the Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA) and one of its administrative zones, the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), in northeast China commissioned the RAND Corporation to perform a technology-foresight study to help them develop and implement a strategic vision and plan for economic growth through technological innovation. The principal objectives were to identify the most-promising emerging technology applications for TBNA and TEDA to pursue as part of their plan for growth, to analyze the drivers and barriers they would face in each case, and to recommend action plans for each technology application (TA). Seven TAs should form a pivotal part of TBNA's comprehensive strategic plan: cheap solar energy; advanced mobile communications and radio-frequency identification; rapid bioassays; membranes, filters, and catalysts for water purification; molecular-scale drug design, development, and delivery; electric and hybrid vehicles; and green manufacturing. The specific action plans can be integrated into an overarching strategic plan that rests on three legs: building a state-of-the-art R & D program; updating and expanding TBNA and TEDA's manufacturing base; and positioning TBNA and TEDA for the global marketplace. The plan offers TBNA a wealth of opportunities that will position it for the future development it envisions, and each TA emerges from one or more of TEDA's current pillar industries, making for a fluid transition that builds on existing strengths.

In 2020, areas of particular importance for technology trends will include biotechnology, nanotechnology, materials technology, and information technology. This report, the companion document to The Global Technology Revolution 2020, Executive Summary (Silberglitt et al., MG-475-NIC, 2006), assesses in detail a sample of 29 countries with respect to their ability to acquire and implement 16 key technology applications.

The global implications of China's rise as a global actor In 2005, a senior official in the George W. Bush administration expressed the hope that China would emerge as a “responsible stakeholder” on the world stage. A dozen years later, the Trump administration dramatically shifted course, instead calling China a “strategic competitor” whose actions routinely threaten U.S. interests. Both assessments reflected an underlying truth: China is no longer just a “rising” power. It has emerged as a truly global actor, both economically and militarily. Every day its actions affect nearly every region and every major issue, from climate change to trade, from conflict in troubled lands to competition over rules that will govern the uses of emerging technologies. To better address the implications of China's new status, both for American policy and for the broader international order, Brookings scholars conducted research over the past two years, culminating in a project: Global China: Assessing China's Growing Role in the World. The project is intended to furnish policy makers and the public with hard facts and deep insights for understanding China's regional and global ambitions. The initiative draws not only on Brookings's deep bench of China and East Asia experts, but also on the tremendous breadth of the institution's security, strategy, regional studies, technological, and economic development experts. Areas of focus include the evolution of China's domestic institutions; great power relations; the emergence of critical technologies; Asian security; China's influence in key regions beyond Asia; and China's impact on global governance and norms. Global China: Assessing China's Growing Role in the World provides the most current, broad-scope, and fact-based assessment of the implications of China's rise for the United States and the rest of the world.

The current trade war between the US and China looks like a small piece in a much larger puzzle over world leadership in which China plays the part of the ascending challenger seeking to upset the existing balance of power. Technology and innovation seem to be Beijing’s weapons of choice in its frontal assault on Washington in sectors traditionally led by the US.China is not only acquiring technology. Its ambitions include the regulation of international trade and global governance. Just what a China-led global order would look like is still unclear, but the inherent side-effects of technology need to be meticulously assessed, as they have the potential to alter the core values of modern societies. To what extent will technology facilitate China’s rise?