China’s Vast Blueprint for Tech Supremacy Over U.S.

China’s technology industry is a telling example of the country’s unusual approach to economic development, mixing government influence with private enterprise on a scale that no nation has ever attempted. Under President Xi Jinping, the Communist Party has rolled out several programs to nudge the economy away from the labor-intensive, low-margin industries that underpinned growth over the past two decades and to make China self-sufficient in critical technologies. Trillions of dollars will flow into companies, infrastructure and research parks under the plans, which are key to Xi’s effort to broaden wealth creation and create a more equal society. The risk is that his government ends up wasting money by investing in companies and sectors that fail to live up to their promise.

Here are some of the main programs that Xi’s lieutenants are overseeing: