High technology in the era of advancement

Increase labor productivity

From 2025, Vietnam will enter an era of growth to strongly transition to the stage of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income industrial country by 2045. The average growth rate can reach double digits from 2026.

This is the time when Vietnam has a very high potential to become a highly developed country and a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In essence, this is a fundamental process of shifting the economic structure from a model based on resources or efficiency to a growth model based on innovation.

Thanks to promoting innovation, businesses have improved productivity and product quality.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang said that to achieve this unprecedented growth rate, in addition to accumulating significant development resources in 40 years of continuous and drastic innovation, creating important development foundations, it is necessary to substantially innovate the growth model, in which high technology must be the core and essential factor. Priority technologies are semiconductor technology, artificial intelligence, blockchain, automation, data, biotechnology, and space technology.

Sharing the same view, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc pointed out that the lessons of countries such as Japan, South Korea, India, China and many other developed countries have shown that high technology is the key to national prosperity and wealth. Vietnam has no other way. Never before have the scientific and technological achievements of the 4.0 industrial revolution and artificial intelligence impacted all activities of social life and the world as quickly and strongly as they do today.

According to the annual Innovation Index (GII) table of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), it can be seen that countries attach great importance to innovation. Almost all countries consider innovation as the only and most effective means to improve national status. All high-level resources or more specifically elite resources are focused on improving this innovation index.

One of the particularly important conditions to promote continuous innovation to create a foundation for solid innovation of the growth model, unleash development potential, and maximize the growth factor in depth is the need to increase research and development (R&D) spending. There is almost a fierce race between countries in using R&D to achieve the pinnacle of high technology to create technological competitive advantages, commercialization and create advantages from high technology monopoly. In other words, high technology becomes a target that needs to be mastered and this is also a sign showing the particularly important mission of high technology in deciding the strategic position of countries.

In fact, during the 2013-2023 period, Vietnam's R&D expenditure is still quite modest, only from 0.3 to more than 0.5% of GDP. This figure has increased significantly in absolute terms, but compared to countries with the world's leading innovation potential, this figure is 4-8 times lower. Meanwhile, Korea is the country with the highest ratio of about 5% of GDP, while the remaining countries such as the United States, Japan, China (except Hong Kong), and the EU are all low at 3-4%.

This figure shows that Vietnam's high-tech development potential is still very large if R&D spending is significantly increased and used effectively. The state of high-tech development will be significantly changed when promoting the exploitation of this investment source from both the private and public sectors.

Leading the way, changing the growth model in depth

The in-depth growth model is a means to create momentum for the country to rise in the new stage. High technology is the core of the new growth model. Both theory and practice show that Vietnam has the conditions to develop high technology to serve the effective transformation stage. In the rising stage, growth can reach double digits from 2026. Vietnam is connecting with leading technology corporations to reach high technology. That shows that the development of high technology is considered important in conjunction with innovation.

In the era of national development, high technology needs to have a leading mission to change the growth model, increase labor productivity, affirm its position and irreplaceable role in the growth model in depth, with great influence and move the country to a high industrialization stage, towards an industrialized country to be able to join the group of the most developed industrialized countries by 2045.

According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc, to achieve that mission of high technology in Vietnam, there must be certain solutions. First of all, it is necessary to fully recognize the position, especially important role and even the decisive role of high technology in improving the national position in the long term and the new development context. It is necessary to promote effective communication about high technology to mobilize the greatest interest and continuous efforts to develop all high technology directions.

At the same time, it is necessary to have a high-tech development ecosystem based on the Project and the Law on High Technology as well as other relevant regulations. Invest more in high technology and have incentive mechanisms to encourage high-tech efficiency. Develop the high-tech market associated with a model of high-tech development investment cooperation or appropriate international joint ventures.

In particular, it is necessary to pay attention to developing a team of high-tech research and development human resources, attach importance to high-tech centers, innovation centers and building high-tech product chains, connecting domestic and international high-tech centers and having solutions to shorten the development gap, even creating new and effective development models and catching up with world trends.

On the other hand, high-tech enterprises and corporations need to have a strong investment strategy to master and develop high technology. There needs to be an effective and strong policy for enterprises to develop this technology. It is necessary to attach importance to promoting innovative startups to reach the pinnacle of technology in the new development stage. Actively and proactively learn from experiences and good practices to apply appropriately to each appropriate high-tech field.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/cong-nghe-cao-trong-ky-nguyen-vuon-minh.html