Innovation, human capital investments critical for China

China should work toward greater investment in "soft infrastructure" like innovation instead of "hard infrastructure" like railways, in order to climb the global value chain.

China puts too much stress on "hard infrastructure" partly due to concerns about short-term economic growth, while investment is insufficient in research and development, said Zhang Monan of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

"To narrow the technology gap between China and mature economies, China has to step up investments on innovation and innovative enterprises," Zhang said in a recent article on the Shanghai Securities News.

Global manufacturing industry is increasingly driven by advanced technologies. China needs to keep up with the times to win a better place in global industrial distribution, Zhang said.

"Human capital is the most important, and the key driver of economic and social development." Zhang said.