Nation must lend support to amateur inventors

It was a hot, noisy afternoon in late April. Standing on the roof of a building in downtown Shenzhen, Ken Lee, a young executive of Shenzhen Huaqiang Industry Co Ltd, pointed at a pile of cement sacks and other construction materials and said: "Come back in June. You will see here a 5,000-square-meter 'maker' space, and that's just the first phase. We'll have everything here for makers who want to make a fortune."

Below him is the gigantic electronic parts market known as Huaqiangbei, where you can find almost every component necessary for making an electronic device.

Makers is a term that originated from the West to describe the technology hobbyists who follow the "do it yourself" philosophy, particularly in the open hardware and electronic sectors. It became a buzzword in China after Premier Li Keqiang visited the Chaihuo Maker Space in Shenzhen in January.