President Xi Jinping has stressed improving innovation capabilities for key and core technologies to offer a strong technological guarantee for China's development.

Key and core technologies are crucial to a country and bear major significance for promoting China's high-quality economic development and maintaining national security, Xi, also head of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, said at a meeting of the committee on Friday.

China must improve innovation capabilities for key and core technologies and keep a firm hold on the initiative in the development of science and technology to offer a strong technological guarantee for China's development, Xi pointed out.

Representatives from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering reported their work at the meeting.

A statement of the meeting said China's technology innovation capabilities have improved markedly in recent years, but the level of technology development, especially in key and core technologies, still has much room to improve to match international advanced levels.

China should enhance fundamental research and seek major breakthroughs, the statement said, calling for an enhanced sense of urgency and crisis.

The meeting asked for the establishment of a mechanism to enhance the development of key and core technologies and more targeted planning of related systems and new platforms.

The government will streamline the approval and management of projects for major scientific and technological research, give R&D institutions and staff more say, and reform evaluation and reward mechanisms for science and technology R&D.

More efforts will be made to develop top-level scientific instrument makers, protect intellectual property rights and nurture professionals. Innovative investment and finance policies will be introduced to facilitate greater cooperation between leading enterprises and research institutes, according to the meeting.

China will continue to be open to international cooperation in science and technology to leverage global innovation resources and diversify channels for cooperation, the statement said.

The meeting called for nurturing more outstanding and dedicated young scientists and research teams led by top scientists.

The meeting also advocated activities to increase public knowledge in science and technology.

Li Keqiang, Wang Huning, and Han Zheng, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting. Li is also deputy head of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs. Wang and Han are members of the committee.