Sitting in a plush hotel lobby in Beijing, Li Gong, head of Microsoft’s Chinese internet business, an alumnus of Sheffield university, put the UK’s challenge bluntly: “China is the world’s fastest growing economy. The US is the home of high-tech and Hollywood. What is the UK’s one-line pitch to the world?”

In a world in which more ideas are coming from more sources, the UK can ill afford to be vague about what kind of innovation it wants to be known for. As innovation policy has become central to developed economies, so it has become more imitative: everywhere nations and regions are trying to emulate Silicon Valley, by linking university research to entrepreneurial high-technology start-ups and venture capital. Good imitation will not do. Britain needs a distinctive approach suited to an economy largely based on services, software and culture.