President highlights national-level labs in developing critical, core technologies

President Xi Jinping on Friday underlined the need to integrate and optimize the country's scientific and technological resources, and called for building up some national-level laboratories in order to make new progress in core technologies in critical areas.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a symposium attended by Chinese scientists, who offered their suggestions and opinions about China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

After hearing some scientists' suggestions, Xi said the country needs more scientific and technological solutions than ever before in order to promote socioeconomic development and improve people's livelihoods.

He said scientific and technological development must target global science frontiers, serve the country's economic growth and other significant needs and benefit people's lives and health.

Innovation, as the primary driving force for scientific and technological development, must be strengthened, he added.

Promoting high-quality development, meeting people's aspirations for a better life, building the new development pattern in response to changes in the domestic and international situation and comprehensively modernizing the country－all call for speeding up scientific and technological innovation, Xi said.

Noting that China has a great number of scientific and technological workers and invests massively in research and development, he said the key is in improving the environment for scientific and technological innovation. That gives scientists an arena where they can give full play to their knowledge and create results.

Xi underscored the need to push for technologies likely to make headway in a short time and produce early progress. He emphasized the need for long-term plans for strategic technologies that require more time for research and development.

He stressed the important role of higher educational institutions and universities in research while also urging long-term efforts and more input in basic research. He required a determination of the direction and development goals for the nation's basic research.

Xi called for deepening reforms in scientific and technological systems to unleash the potential of technological innovation. He also stressed the need to strengthen international cooperation to allow the country to be involved in the global innovation network and improve its technological innovation capacity via opening-up. He called on scientific and technological workers to be bold in proposing new theories, exploring new areas and working out more high-level creative outcomes.

Efforts also should be made to guide children in acquiring scientific knowledge and help them to become interested in science and technology, Xi said,

He urged Party and government officials at various levels to honestly implement the policies and decisions made by the CPC Central Committee, faithfully carry out the innovation-driven development strategy and strive to turn technological results into productivity.

Leading officials should keep updating their knowledge and have a good understanding of the development trend of global science and technology, Xi said.