China has placed innovation firmly at the centre of its new five-year plan, with President Xi Jinping putting the country on course to catch up with the west in everything from aircraft engines to “quantum teleportation”.

“Pursuing these projects will help China break free from external dominance in these strategic areas,” said Mr Xi, said state news agency Xinhua, listing brain science, deep space, smart manufacturing and robotics as other key technological goals.

But for many the Star Trek-like ambitions go boldly nowhere: China’s innovation bulls believe it is already spending huge amounts on research and development and leapfrogging technologies in telecoms and tech with agility. Detractors, meanwhile, demur that innovation simply means copying.