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"Study and Implement the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Communist Party of China(CPC) Central Committee"Column

How Science and Technology Modernization Leads and Supports  National Modernization: Historical Lessons from Germany, the  United States, and Japan  

Fan Chunliang, Li Huimin

(Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China)

Abstract: The modernization of science and technology leads and supports the development  of national modernization. The experience of international science and technology modernization  can provide reference and inspiration for China's science and technology modernization construction. This article adopts the method of historical research to study the law of the develop⁃ ment of science and technology modernization and its leading and supporting role in national  modernization. It mainly includes two aspects of research content: First, it clarifies the connota⁃ tion of science and technology modernization. From a historical perspective, it categorizes the  evolution of science and technology modernization into three distinct stages. It defines science  and technology modernization as the institutional arrangement, organizational form, and material  basis that promote the development and application of scientific and technological frontiers or  align with the prevailing trends in these fields. It emphasizes that science and technology mod⁃ ernization is not only the improvement of the level of science and technology, but also a multidimensional systematic reconstruction of institutions, organizations, occupations, infrastructure, internationalization, and governance. Furthermore, it points out that science and technology mod⁃ ernization and national modernization interact in terms of demand proposal, supply conditions, and power generation. Second, it discusses the development of science and technology modern⁃ ization in Germany, the United States, and Japan in history and its leading and supporting role in  national modernization. In the 19th century, Germany achieved the institutional combination of  science, education, and industry through Humboldt's reform of the university, the development  of technical schools, the establishment of internal laboratories and patent systems in enterprises, and led Germany to become a modernized country. Since its founding, the United States has pro⁃ moted industrialization through technological innovation and has achieved great development  from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. After World War Ⅱ, the federal govern⁃ ment took on the main responsibility for advancing science and technology. It strongly supported  basic research and cutting-edge technology. The development of dual-use technology, which  serves both military and civilian purposes, contributed to the economic prosperity after the war  and greatly enhanced the national strength and international status of the United States. Japan, after the Meiji Restoration, embraced the principles of "civilization and enlightenment" and  "Japanese spirit and Western talent", and took the path of "introduction—digestion—improve⁃ ment—innovation" in science and technology. After World War Ⅱ, it successively implemented  strategies such as "trade-based nation", "technology-based nation", "science and technologybased nation", and "science and technology and innovation", and transformed from a follower  into an innovative country. The research shows that the role of science and technology modern⁃ ization in promoting national modernization is manifested in: leading the strategic direction of na⁃ tional development; promoting economic transformation and industrial structure; improving na⁃ tional competitiveness and international status; promoting the modernization of the education sys⁃ tem and talent supply; improving the governance capacity of the country. The path choices of the  three countries are different, and the experiences to be learned include the following aspects: the  leading role of scientific and technological values must be emphasized; science and technology  modernization must be combined with national strategic goals; education is the foundation of sci⁃ ence and technology modernization and national modernization development; the modernization  of the innovation system is the driving force of national modernization; the leading role of the gov ernment in important periods of national development; institutional modernization is the guaran tee of science and technology modernization and national modernization. 

Key words: modernization of science and technology; national modernization; Germany; the  United States; Japan; technology values; innovation system; modernization of institutions