China's rapid adoption and adaptation of technology have enabled it to transform industries and improve people's lives. For example, the QR code, invented by Japan's Denso Wave in 1994, has become an integral part of China's financial life, enabling people to make payments, unlock bicycles, and settle bills with a simple scan. Similarly, Rwanda has successfully adopted mobile money, turning the telephone into a bank branch, payment counter, and personal wallet. This has enabled farmers to receive money without traveling to town, and shopkeepers to accept payments without owning a card machine.
Rwanda's 2024 FinScope survey found that 96% of adults were financially included, largely due to digital services reaching people who were previously unbanked. The government's IremboGov platform has also brought over 100 public services onto one platform, making it easier for people to access essential services without losing a day moving between government offices. This is similar to China's approach, where it has taken existing technologies and connected them to infrastructure, policy, and widespread public use, making them transformative.
China's high-speed rail network is another example of its ability to adopt and adapt technology. While Japan introduced the Shinkansen in 1964, and France developed the TGV, China initially depended on foreign trains and expertise. However, it has since standardized tracks, signaling, stations, ticketing, and train designs, while developing its own engineers, factories, and suppliers. By the end of 2025, China's high-speed rail network had reached 50,400 kilometers, up nearly 33% from 37,900 kilometers in 2020.
China's success in the motor industry is also noteworthy. While it did not invent the electric car or lithium-ion battery, it has connected mineral processors, battery factories, software developers, carmakers, incentives, and charging infrastructure. In 2025, China produced 70% of the world's electric cars and over 80% of its battery cells, according to the International Energy Agency. It also manufactured around 85% of the cathode materials and over 90% of the anode materials used in electric-car batteries.
For Rwanda, the lesson is not to reproduce China's scale, but to understand the system behind its success. This includes investing in reliable electricity, compatible charging standards, affordable financing, trained mechanics, spare parts, and battery-recycling systems. China's model also carries serious weaknesses, including industrial overcapacity, costly subsidies, local government debt, destructive price wars, and concerns about privacy and surveillance.
China's investment in research and development is also significant, with 3.926 trillion yuan spent in 2025, equivalent to 2.8% of its economy. This has enabled it to enter the top 10 of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index for the first time. Science may discover what is possible, while technology turns that discovery into a product, but engineering, infrastructure, and competition determine whether it reaches ordinary people.
Ultimately, China's experience shows that adopting and adapting technology can drive economic growth and improve people's lives. Rwanda can learn from this experience, and by understanding the system behind China's success, it can make informed decisions about how to adopt and adapt technology to drive its own growth and development.
Key points
- China's success in adopting and adapting technology can be attributed to its ability to connect existing technologies to infrastructure, policy, and widespread public use.
- Rwanda can learn from China's experience in adopting and adapting technology to drive economic growth and improve people's lives.
- China's investment in research and development has enabled it to become a leader in innovation and technology.
