President Xi Jinping has delivered an important speech in Shanghai at a symposium on strengthening basic research.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed in the speech on Thursday that greater efforts and more concrete measures should be taken to strengthen basic research, enhance China's capacity for original innovation, and further solidify the foundation for building the country's strength in science and technology.

Some of those who attended shared their views with Xinhua News Agency on the implementation of the guiding principles of the symposium.

They said that Xi's important remarks provided a clear direction for achieving high-level self-reliance in science and technology, and for building China's strength in science and technology. They vowed to take pragmatic steps to strengthen basic research, enhance original innovation and boldly pursue new scientific heights.

Ding Kuiling, president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that Xi's remarks have boosted confidence and motivation for advancing basic research.

"We will focus on the country's major strategic needs, grasp the latest trends in basic research, promote the transformation of research paradigms, implement the plan for breakthroughs in basic and interdisciplinary research, and integrate independent sci-tech innovation and talent training with the strengthening of basic research," Ding said.

Calling Xi's remarks a "mobilization order" for strengthening basic research, Liu Chenli, president of the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the CAS, said that China has entered a stage of development in which it must pursue breakthroughs at the source and explore paths in uncharted territory.

"Only by mastering the capabilities to make breakthroughs in basic research can we truly hold the initiative in competition and development," he said.

The symposium holds great significance, as this year marks the start of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

Zhang Xi, president of Jilin University and a CAS academician, noted that through successive five-year plans, China has made considerable progress in basic research with remarkable original achievements, and has cultivated a large pool of outstanding young talent dedicated to the field.

"After the symposium, I will lead my colleagues and students to continue strengthening research on new materials to provide sci-tech support for promoting high-quality development," Zhang said.

Huang Sanwen, president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a CAS academician, said that basic agricultural research serves as the "master switch" that generates source technologies and guides the development of the agricultural industry.

"Only by deeply understanding the life cycles of plants, animals and microorganisms can we efficiently cultivate new varieties, discover new methods for pest and disease control, and expand the applications of agricultural products," Huang said.

Tan Zhemin, president of Nanjing University and a CAS academician, said that once a breakthrough is achieved in basic research, it opens up entirely new frontiers of understanding, drives transformative technological innovation, and profoundly reshapes the way people live and work.

Wang Xiaoyun, chief engineer at China Mobile and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said she was deeply impressed by Xi's emphasis on promoting the deep integration of industry, academia, research and application led by enterprises, as well as on smoothing the innovation chain spanning basic research, application development and commercialization of achievements.

She pledged to strengthen market-oriented applied basic research, take application needs as the fundamental starting point, pursue interdisciplinary integration and cross-sector innovation as major breakthrough drivers, and consolidate industry-academia-research collaboration as an essential underpinning.

XINHUA