Science and Technology Daily:

Now, innovations in such cutting-edge technologies as quantum technology, artificial intelligence, and space exploration are becoming increasingly known to the general public, and science and technology are now being closely related to the life and work of everyone. Would you like to share with us China's achievements in scientific and technological innovation made since the 18th CPC National Congress? What role have science and technology played in promoting high-quality economic development and improving the people's living standards? Thank you.

Li Meng:

Thank you. You've raised a very good question. The fields you mentioned in your question are all at the cutting-edge of global science and technology. They are the highlights of China's scientific and technological development, and epitomize the major achievements of China in scientific and technological innovation made under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to scientific and technological innovation. Listing innovative development as the first of the Five Concepts for Development, he made strategic and big-picture plans for scientific and technological innovation in China, and put forward a series of fundamental and far-reaching strategies.

From "innovation is the primary driving force behind development," "fully implement an innovation-driven development strategy," "innovation should be placed at the center of China's development strategy," to "strengthen science and technology to provide strategic support for China's development," China is blazing an increasingly wider path for independent innovation with its own characteristics.

In the decade since the 18th CPC National Congress, China saw its biggest progress in science and technology and its fastest rise in scientific and technological strength of any decade in its history. The changes in China's scientific and technological development during this decade were historic and holistic and reshaped the landscape. In this period, China became a country of innovators, fully integrated into the global innovation network, and displayed an innovation layout and development trend characteristic of the new era. 

Mr. Han just mentioned China's R&D expenditure. In 2021, the country's total spending on R&D was 2.7 times higher than that of 2012, and its spending on basic research was 3.4 times higher than that of 2012. Over the past ten years, China's ranking in the Global Innovation Index jumped 22 places, making it the only country that saw its ranking rising rapidly and steadily. 

Over the past 10 years, China's science and technology have seen all-around development with distinct features and improved quality, becoming the primary driving force to promote the country's high-quality development and improve people's living standards.

Both scientific research and academic disciplines have seen substantial improvements. Some disciplines have gained leading positions in the world; the R&D capacity of research institutions, universities, and leading sci-tech enterprises has improved remarkably. Ten years ago, China had less than 50,000 new-and high-tech enterprises. Today, the number is 330,000. In the global "science and technology (S&T) clusters" ranking, Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which are international S&T innovation centers, all made the top 10. 

A slew of world-class achievements have been made in basic research and strategic high tech. As evidenced by the Tianwen-1 Mars mission, the Chang'e-5 lunar mission, as well as the Shenzhou-13 crewed spaceship successfully docking with space station core module Tianhe, China has made great strides in deep space exploration. Deep-sea manned submersibles Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior) and Fendouzhe (Striver), and unmanned submersible Haidou-1 have been successfully developed, which means China has acquired the technology for a submersible to dive to more than 10,000 meters below sea level. China has become the world's only country to reach a "quantum supremacy" milestone in two mainstream technical routes - one via photonics quantum computing technology and the other via superconducting quantum computing technology.

A number of advanced equipment and systems developed independently by China have been put into use, boosting the country's industrial upgrading. As Mr. Han said just now, technologies such as supercomputing, high-speed rail, smart grid, fourth-generation nuclear reactor, and ultra-high voltage transmission technology have taken the lead in the world. In particular, 5G development and application have been intensified, and an AI ecosystem with Chinese characteristics has come into being, empowering various industries at a faster pace. Underpinned by greater computing power and supercomputing, the digital economy is thriving, with a raft of smart cities, smart factories, smart healthcare networks, and smart transportation systems emerging.

As General Secretary Xi Jinping said, scientific and technological development must target the global science frontiers, serve the main economic battlefield, strive to fulfill the significant needs of the country, and benefit people's lives and health. The role of scientific and technological development in serving people's lives and health has been highlighted. Over the past ten years, the number of new drugs developed by China has risen considerably. Multiple COVID vaccines, antigen test kits and treatment medicines have supported the country's COVID response. Not long ago, the International Organization for Standardization released the first international standards for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing, which China has spearheaded the efforts to formulate. China has successfully fought a battle against COVID-19 with the support of science and technology.

A large batch of technicians has played an important role in poverty relief and rural vitalization. More than 200 sci-tech developments were used to help present a high-quality Beijing Winter Olympics.

At the same time, we are keenly aware that compared to the world's leading countries, China still has a long way to go in terms of sci-tech innovation. We will, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, face problems and difficulties head-on and work tirelessly to build China into a global sci-tech powerhouse. Thank you!