Treaty Ports, Cultural Impact And Regional Innovatio

"Technology leads to national prosperity,and strong talent leads to a strong country." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the report of the 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that "we must adhere to the principle that technology is the primary productive force,talent is the primary resource,and innovation is the primary driving force.We must deeply implement the strategies of revitalizing the country through science and education,strengthening the country through talent,and driving development through innovation,open up new areas and new tracks for development,and continuously shape new development momentum and advantages." The implementation of an innovation-driven development strategy must be hastened to attain high-level technological self-reliance.When discussing the innovation capability of a region,not only should short-term factors that promote regional innovation be considered,but also the long-term historical perspective should be taken into account to explore the root causes that affect regional innovation capability.With the rise of unilateral trade protectionism and the impact of the "anti-globalization" trend and the COVID-19 pandemic,it is important to study the key role of Opening up to the outside world in China’s economic transformation and development.This article uses the historical event of the opening of modern ports in China as a starting point to study the long-term impact of this historical imprint on contemporary regional innovation economic activities in cities at the prefecture level,as well as the diffusion path and internal mechanism of this impact,from a perspective spanning nearly a century,using data from the modern customs(1842-1912)and modern city-level patents(2010-2017).The study found that the opening of modern ports nearly 100 years ago significantly promoted the development of contemporary regional innovation capability,not only in the port cities themselves,but also in the surrounding cities,where there was a certain spillover effect.At the same time,this article also found that the impact of modern ports on the innovation capability of contemporary cities at the prefecture level also has extensive regional heterogeneity.Secondly,this paper also finds that the Treaty ports will also have a profound historical root for the development of innovation of contemporary cities through the culture shock of foreign cultural infiltration and scientific and technological communication.Finally,this article provides a detailed and meticulous analysis and discussion of the internal mechanism of the impact of modern ports on regional innovation capability,further demonstrating that modern ports mainly affect contemporary regional innovation capability through the accumulation of modern human capital,optimization of contemporary business environment,and creation of a micro-innovation atmosphere in cities at the prefecture level.Modern China has experienced two major waves of opening up.The first was the establishment of open ports for foreign trade in the mid-19 th century under the impetus of Western powers,which laid a solid foundation for the region’s future development.The second was the reform and Opening up in the late 1970 s.In the past 40 years since the reform and Opening up,China has also achieved remarkable development achievements,but it also faces many development contradictions,such as social reconstruction and interest games,economic prosperity and wealth disparity.In the future development,China still needs to maintain a posture of Opening up,widely absorb new methods,new thinking,and new cultures from abroad,take the essence and discard the dross,and accelerate the construction of a dual circulation system at home and abroad.This will also leave a valuable legacy for the future development of the country,the revival of the nation,and the happiness of the people.This study provides theoretical support and practical basis for better understanding the important role of open policies such as the "Belt and Road" initiative,the development strategy of free trade zones,and the construction of a dual circulation system at home and abroad in China’s regional development from a historical perspective,and provides rich historical experience for China’s construction of innovative cities.