The term ''Four new inventions'' () is a slogan promoted by Chinese

state media State media are typically understood as media outlets that are owned, operated, or significantly influenced by the government. They are distinguished from public service media, which are designed to serve the public interest, operate independent ...

, drawing inspiration from the ''

Four Great Inventions The Four Great Inventions are inventions from ancient China that are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and as symbols of ancient China's advanced science and technology. They are the compass, gunpowder, papermaking ...

'' of

ancient China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

. In 2017, Chinese state media began asserting that

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

"invented"

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

mobile payment Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cas ...

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

, and bike-sharing. However, none of these "four new inventions" were originally invented in mainland China.

High-speed rail

High-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail systems, utilizing an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. The European Union defines "high-speed" as a minimum of 250 km/h on new tracks and 200 km/h on older tracks. The world's first high-speed train, the ''

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 19 ...

'' in Japan, began service in 1964 with a maximum speed of 210 km/h. In mainland China, "high-speed" is defined as a design speed of at least 250 km/h, with a minimum operational speed of 200 km/h during initial service. In 2008, the first Chinese high-speed railway, the

Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway () is a high-speed rail in China, Chinese high-speed railway that runs line between Beijing and Tianjin. Designed for passenger traffic only, the Chinese government built the line to accommodate trains t ...

, began operations. By 2016, China claimed to have the largest high-speed rail system in the world.

E-commerce

E-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

was invented in 1979 by

Michael Aldrich Michael John Aldrich (22 August 1941 – 19 May 2014) was an English inventor, innovator and entrepreneur. In 1979 he invented online shopping to enable online transaction processing between consumers and businesses, or between one business a ...

. The first online store,

NetMarket NetMarket is an online marketplace owned by Trilegiant that sells various goods ranging from electronics to jewelry. It was founded in 1994 by Dan Kohn and Roger Lee, both former London School of Economics students, and by Guy H. T. Haskin an ...

, was launched in 1994. E-commerce in mainland China began in 1999 with platforms like

Dangdang E-commerce China Dangdang Inc. (), known as Dangdang, is a Chinese electronic commerce company, founded by Peggy Yu and Li Guoqing in 1999. It is headquartered in Beijing and its main competitors are Amazon.cn (or Amazon China, formerly Joyo.com) ...

and Joyo.com (now Amazon China). In 2003,

Jack Ma Ma Yun (; born 10 September 1964), or more commonly referred as Jack Ma, is a Chinese businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, and co-founder of Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital. As of May 2025, Ma's ne ...

founded

Taobao Taobao is a Chinese online shopping platform. It is headquartered in Hangzhou and is owned by Alibaba. According to Alexa rank, it was the eighth most-visited website globally in 2021. Taobao.com was registered on April 21, 2003 by Alibaba Cl ...

, followed by the establishment of 360buy (now JD.com) in 2004.

Mobile payment

Mobile payment Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cas ...

generally refers to payment services that are operated under financial regulations and conducted using a mobile device. The concept originated in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in 1997. In mainland China, mobile payments began in the early 21st century, with

Alipay Alipay () is a third-party mobile and online payment platform, established in Hangzhou, China in February 2004 by Alibaba Group and its founder Jack Ma. In 2015, Alipay moved its headquarters to Pudong, Shanghai, although its parent company ...

and

WeChat Pay WeChat Pay, officially referred to as Weixin Pay ( zh, c=微信支付, p=Wēixìn Zhīfù) in China, is a mobile payment and digital wallet service by WeChat based in China that allows users to make mobile payments and online transactions. As ...

being the most prominent platforms. According to statistics, the market penetration of mobile payments is 77% in mainland China, compared to 48% in the United States and 27% in Japan.

Bike-sharing

A bike-sharing system is a service that provides bicycles for short-term use at a fee. The first bike-sharing system, known as the "White Bicycle Plan," was introduced in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in 1965. In mainland China, the bike-sharing system began with Ofo in 2014, followed by

Mobike Mobike ( zh, s=摩拜单车, p=mó bài dān chē), also known as Meituanbike, founded by Beijing Mobike Technology Co., Ltd. ( zh, s=北京摩拜科技有限公司), is a fully station-less bicycle-sharing system headquartered in Beijing, Chi ...

in 2015.

References

{{reflist 2017 in China Propaganda in China