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Science & Technology Strategy and Policy

Research and Development Characteristics and Breakthrough  Paths of Key Core Technologies in the Information and Communi⁃ cation Technology Industry from the Perspective of Technological  Convergence 

Liu Yan1, 2 , Jia Hanbo1 , Gao Yanhui1, 2

(1.School of Management, Xi'an Polytechnic University, Xi'an 710048, China; 2.Soft Science Research Base for  Shaanxi Provincial Science and Technology Policy Innovation and Evaluation, Xi'an 710048, China)

Abstract: This study is based on invention patent data of the ICT industry. The entropy weight  method was applied to identify key core patents, and network analysis was employed to compare  differences in the convergence of key core technologies among the United States, Japan, South Ko⁃ rea, and China. The results are as follows: ①Although China ranks first globally in the total num⁃ ber of ICT invention patent applications, its ownership of key core patents only stands at the third  place worldwide, revealing the problem of "prioritizing quantity over quality" in China's ICT pat⁃ ent R&D. ②This study analyzes technology convergence from the dual perspectives of diversity  and cohesion. From the diversity perspective, the four countries perform prominently in industries  such as next-generation information networks, electronic cores, and emerging software. The U.S. leads in industrial integration, while China, though surpassing South Korea in cross-industry inte⁃ gration degree, lags behind the U.S. and Japan in the depth of industrial integration and the com⁃ pleteness of key core technology layouts. In multi-agent cooperation models, China, the U.S., and  South Korea focus their multi-agent cooperation on enterprises, research institutions, colleges, universities, and individuals, whereas Japan's cooperation agents have no colleges or universities. From the cohesion perspective, the four countries share similarities in the layout of the top 10 leading key technologies but differ in technical advantages. ③Based on the convergence charac⁃ teristics of the four countries, distinct breakthrough paths for ICT R&D are identified: the U.S. adopts the approach of "integrated development of multi-industry technology fields + crossintegration of technical categories + in-depth industry-university-research integration"; Japan  follows the path of "demand for high-quality development of leading technologies + internal inte⁃ gration of technical categories + in-depth collaboration among enterprises in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the industrial chain"; South Korea uses the model of "shallow development  of multi-field technologies + internal integration of technical categories + leading enterprises  driving innovation consortia"; and China's breakthrough path is "demand for high-quality devel⁃ opment of leading technologies + internal integration of technical categories + leading enterprises  driving innovation consortia". It is suggested that China learn from the U.S. experience in basic  and common research of key core technologies, refer to South Korea's model for the development  of advantageous industries, and strive to build an innovation ecosystem led by leading science  and technology enterprises. 

Key words: ICT industry; key core technologies; technology network; technology conver⁃ gence; research and development characteristics; breakthrough paths; patent identification; pat⁃ ent portfolio