Xi Jinping's Speech at the Symposium of Scientists

Today, we hold a symposium of scientists to listen to your opinions and suggestions on promoting innovation-driven development and accelerating the pace of scientific and technological innovation during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and a longer period. The scientists and scientific and technological workers attending today's symposium are from scientific research institutes, institutions of higher learning, and enterprises, involving basic research, applied basic research, and applied research, as well as foreign scientists working in China.
Just now, in combination with their respective research fields, we have put forward many valuable opinions and suggestions on deepening the reform of the scientific and technological system and promoting scientific and technological innovation and development. Please seriously study the absorption. Next, in the light of your statements, I would like to make a few comments.
　　1. fully understand the great strategic significance of accelerating scientific and technological innovation
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have attached great importance to scientific and technological innovation and insisted on taking innovation as the first driving force for development. Through the joint efforts of the whole society, China's scientific and technological undertakings have made historic achievements and undergone historic changes. Major innovation achievements are emerging, some frontier fields are beginning to enter the stage of running and leading, and scientific and technological strength is moving from quantitative accumulation to qualitative leap, from point breakthrough to system capability improvement. In the course of the fight against the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the vast number of scientific and technological workers have carried out scientific research in a number of important areas, such as treatment, vaccine research and development, prevention and control, and have provided strong support and made significant contributions to the overall promotion of epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to the vast number of scientific and technological workers!
Today's world is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. The domestic and foreign environment facing my country's development has undergone profound and complex changes. my country's "14th Five-Year Plan" period and longer-term development have put forward more urgent requirements for accelerating scientific and technological innovation. First, accelerating scientific and technological innovation is the need to promote high-quality development. Building a modern economic system and promoting quality change, efficiency change, and power change all require strong scientific and technological support. Second, accelerating scientific and technological innovation is the need to realize the people's high quality life. At present, the main contradiction in our society has been transformed into the contradiction between the people's growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. In order to meet the people's yearning for a better life, more scientific and technological innovations related to people's livelihood must be introduced. Third, accelerating scientific and technological innovation is the need to build a new development pattern. To promote the domestic cycle, we must adhere to the main line of supply-side structural reform, improve the quality and level of the supply system, and create new demand with new supply. Scientific and technological innovation is the key. Smooth domestic and international double cycle, but also need scientific and technological strength to ensure the safety and stability of the industrial chain supply chain. Fourth, accelerating scientific and technological innovation is the need to smoothly start a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way. From the initial proposal of the "four modernizations" to the current proposal of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, the modernization of science and technology has always been an important part of my country's modernization.
Now, my country's economic and social development and the improvement of people's livelihood require more scientific and technological solutions than ever before, and they all need to strengthen the first driving force of innovation. At the same time, in the face of fierce international competition, in the context of rising unilateralism and protectionism, we must find an innovation path suitable for national conditions, especially to put the improvement of original innovation capabilities in a more prominent position, and strive to achieve more "From 0 to 1" breakthrough. It is hoped that the vast number of scientists and scientific and technological workers will shoulder their historical responsibilities, persist in facing the frontiers of world science and technology, the main battlefield of the economy, the major needs of the country, and the lives and health of the people, and continue to march towards the breadth and depth of science and technology.
　　2. to speed up the solution of some key problems restricting the development of scientific and technological innovation
China has a large number of scientific and technological workers and large-scale R & D investment, and initially has the conditions to compete with the international advanced level in some fields. The key is to improve the ecology of scientific and technological innovation, stimulate the vitality of innovation and creation, build a stage for scientists and scientific and technological workers to display their talents, and let the achievements of scientific and technological innovation emerge continuously.
First, adhere to the demand-oriented and problem-oriented. Scientific research topic selection is the first problem to be solved in scientific and technological work. I have said many times that the choice of research direction should adhere to the demand orientation, proceed from the urgent and long-term needs of the country, and truly solve practical problems. Engels said: "Once society has a technical need, this need will push science forward more than ten universities."
At present, my country's economic and social development, improvement of people's livelihood, and national defense construction are facing many practical problems that need to be resolved. For example, in agriculture, many seeds rely heavily on foreign countries, the planting and processing technology of agricultural products is relatively backward, and agricultural non-point source pollution and heavy metal pollution of cultivated land are serious in some areas. In terms of industry, some key core technologies are controlled by others, and some key components, parts and raw materials rely on imports. In terms of energy resources, the degree of dependence on foreign oil has reached more than 70%, oil and gas exploration and development, and the development of new energy technologies are insufficient; the unbalanced spatial distribution of water resources has brought many problems. In terms of society, the aging of my country's population continues to deepen, the people's requirements for a healthy life continue to increase, and the lagging development of science and technology in the fields of biomedicine and medical equipment has become increasingly prominent. For technologies that can quickly break through and solve problems in a timely manner, we must promptly advance; for technologies that are strategic and require long-term success, we must deploy in advance.
Second, integrate and optimize the allocation of scientific and technological resources. For scientific and technological innovation, the optimal allocation of scientific and technological resources is very important. The success of "two bombs and one satellite" depends on a group of leading talents and a strong organizational system in our country. We have a large number of scientists, academicians, and a team of world-class scientific researchers and engineers. We must pay close attention to the construction of an innovation system, optimize the combination, and overcome the shortcomings of dispersion, inefficiency, and duplication. There should be a group of handsome scientists to play an effective role in integrating scientific research resources. It is necessary to give full play to the main role of enterprise technological innovation, promote the agglomeration of innovation elements to enterprises, and promote the deep integration of industry, university and research. It is necessary to give full play to the advantages of my country's socialist system in being able to concentrate its efforts on major tasks, optimize the allocation of superior resources, and promote key core technologies in important fields. It is necessary to set up a number of national laboratories, reorganize the existing state key laboratories, and form a laboratory system in our country. It is necessary to give full play to the important role of colleges and universities in scientific research, mobilize the enthusiasm of various scientific research institutes, give full play to the advantages of abundant talents and orderly organization, and form a strategic force.
Third, persevere in strengthening basic research. Basic research is the source of scientific and technological innovation. Although China has made remarkable progress in basic research, the gap with the international advanced level is still obvious. The root of many "stuck neck" technical problems facing our country is that basic theoretical research cannot keep up, and the source and underlying things are not clear. On the one hand, basic research should follow the laws of scientific discovery, be driven by curiosity to explore the mysteries of the world, and encourage free exploration and full communication and debate; on the other hand, it should be driven by major scientific and technological issues to abstract theoretical problems in major applied research, and then explore the laws of science, so that basic research and applied research can promote each other. It is necessary to clarify the direction and development goals of my country's basic research field, work for a long time, and continue to stick to it. In order to increase investment in basic research, first of all, the state finance should increase investment, at the same time, it is necessary to guide enterprises and financial institutions to increase support in appropriate forms, encourage society to invest through multiple channels, such as donations and the establishment of funds, and expand the sources of funds. to form a sustained and stable investment mechanism. Scientific research institutions and enterprises that have been effective in carrying out basic research should be given necessary policy support in the areas of finance, finance, and taxation. It is necessary to create a good scientific research ecology that is conducive to basic research, establish a sound scientific evaluation system and incentive mechanism, encourage the majority of scientific researchers to emancipate their minds, boldly innovate, and allow scientists to concentrate on research. It is necessary to run first-class academic journals and various academic platforms, and strengthen domestic and international academic exchanges.
Fourth, strengthen the education and training of innovative talents. People are the first resource. The fundamental source of national scientific and technological innovation lies in people. Ten years of trees, hundred years of trees. We should put education in a more important position, comprehensively improve the quality of education, and pay attention to cultivating students' innovative consciousness and innovative ability. It is necessary to strengthen the construction of basic disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, encourage qualified colleges and universities to actively set up basic research and interdisciplinary related disciplines, strengthen the training of undergraduates in basic disciplines, and explore the training model of basic disciplines. It is necessary to strengthen the training of top-notch students in basic disciplines, build a number of bases in disciplines such as mathematics, physics and chemistry, and attract the best students to devote themselves to basic research. It is necessary to strengthen basic research in universities, lay out the construction of frontier science centers, and develop new research universities. It is necessary to respect the law of talent growth and the law of scientific research activities, and cultivate a group of international-level strategic scientific and technological talents, scientific and technological leaders, and innovative teams. We should attach great importance to the growth of young scientific and technological talents and make them the main force of scientific and technological innovation. It is necessary to gather first-class talents from the world, attract high-end overseas talents, and provide internationally competitive and attractive environmental conditions for overseas scientists to work in China.
Fifth, rely on reform to stimulate the vitality of scientific and technological innovation. China's scientific and technological team has great potential for innovation, and the key is to effectively release this potential through deepening the reform of the scientific and technological system. The transformation of government functions is an important task of scientific and technological reform. Many of our industrial chain supply chains need scientific and technological solutions, which can only be provided by tens of thousands of scientific and technological workers and market entities fighting on the front line. What the government should do is to create a good environment for them, provide basic conditions, and play a good role in organization and coordination. It is necessary to speed up the transformation of science and technology management functions, and shift more energy from sharing money, goods, and projects to setting strategies, guidelines, policies, creating an environment, and providing services. It is necessary to speed up the reform of scientific research institutes, give universities and scientific research institutions greater autonomy, give innovative leading talents greater decision-making power and the right to use funds, and resolutely eliminate "only papers, professional titles, academic qualifications, and awards". It is necessary to integrate the system of financial investment in scientific research and change the state of division, small and scattered departments. We will study and consider the issue of strengthening the overall planning of scientific and technological forces.
Sixth, strengthen international scientific and technological cooperation. International cooperation in science and technology is a major trend. We should more actively integrate into the global innovation network and enhance our scientific and technological innovation capabilities through open cooperation. The more we face the blockade and suppression, the less we can engage in self-isolation and self-isolation, but to implement a more open, inclusive, mutually beneficial and shared international scientific and technological cooperation strategy. On the one hand, we must persist in doing our own affairs well, continue to improve the ability of independent innovation in science and technology, build a "long board" in some advantageous areas, and consolidate the foundation for international cooperation. On the other hand, it is necessary to promote international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation with a more open mind and measures. Under the current situation, it is necessary to pragmatically promote international scientific and technological cooperation in the field of global epidemic prevention and control and public health, and carry out research cooperation in the fields of drugs, vaccines, and testing. We should focus on common issues such as climate change and human health, and strengthen joint research and development with researchers from various countries. It is necessary to gradually liberalize the establishment of international scientific and technological organizations in my country and foreign scientists to serve in my country's scientific and technological academic organizations, so that my country will become a broad stage for global scientific and technological opening and cooperation.
　　3. vigorously carry forward the spirit of scientists
Scientific achievements cannot be separated from spiritual support. The spirit of scientists is the precious spiritual wealth accumulated by scientific and technological workers in their long-term scientific practice. Since the founding of New China, the vast number of scientific and technological workers have set up monuments of scientific and technological innovation on the land of the motherland, and have also created a unique spiritual temperament. In May last year, the CPC Central Committee issued the opinions on further carrying forward the spirit of scientists and strengthening the construction of work style and style of study, which called for vigorously carrying forward the patriotic spirit of cherishing the motherland and serving the people, the innovative spirit of bravely climbing the peak and daring to be the first, the realistic spirit of pursuing truth and rigorous scholarship, the dedication spirit of indifferent to fame and wealth, and the collaborative spirit of gathering wisdom, unity and cooperation, The spirit of educating people who are willing to be a ladder and reward. The vast number of scientific and technological workers should shoulder the heavy responsibility of scientific and technological innovation entrusted by history. Here, I would like to emphasize the spirit of patriotism and innovation.
Science has no borders, scientists have a motherland. The historic achievements made in China's scientific and technological undertakings are the result of successive generations of scientists who are committed to serving the country. From a large number of older generation scientists such as Li Siguang, Qian Xuesen, Qian Sanqiang, and Deng Jiaxian, to a large number of outstanding scientists who grew up after the founding of New China, such as Chen Jingrun, Huang Danian, and Nan Rendong, they are all models of patriotic scientists. It is hoped that the vast number of scientific and technological workers will not forget their original ideals and aspirations, bear in mind their mission, uphold the supremacy of national and people's interests, inherit and carry forward the excellent quality of the older generation of scientists who cherish the motherland and serve the people, and carry forward the spirit of "two bombs and one star." take the initiative to shoulder the important historical task and integrate their scientific pursuit into the great cause of building a modern socialist country.
Scientific and technological innovation, especially original innovation, should have the ability of creative thinking and strict verification methods, do not believe in academic authority, do not blindly follow existing theories, dare to question boldly, seriously demonstrate, and constantly experiment. Originality generally comes from assumptions and conjectures. It is a complex process of continuous observation, thinking, assumptions, experiments, verification, and induction, rather than simple induction. The innovativeness of hypotheses and conjectures is crucial. Einstein said, "It is often more important to ask a question than to solve it." If the choice is not correct, even if it takes a lot of energy, it is difficult to produce results. The vast number of scientific and technological workers should set up the ambition of daring to create, dare to put forward new theories, open up new fields, explore new paths, and work hard on their own creation. It is necessary to produce more high-level original results and contribute to the continuous enrichment and development of the scientific system. The starting point of scientific research, especially basic research, is often the curiosity of scientists to explore the mysteries of nature. From a practical point of view, all scientists who have made outstanding achievements have achieved their careers by virtue of persistent curiosity, professionalism, and lifelong exploration. Some studies have shown that the advantage of scientists depends not only on intelligence, but also on concentration and diligence. After long-term exploration, they form an advantage in a certain field. We should encourage scientific and technological workers to concentrate on their own scientific research, study diligently, and do not admire vanity, regardless of fame and wealth. It is necessary to widely publicize the vivid deeds of scientific and technological workers who have the courage to explore and devote themselves to science. Curiosity is human nature. The guidance and cultivation of scientific interest should start with dolls, so that they can learn more about scientific knowledge, master scientific methods, and form a large number of young people with scientist potential.
Party committees and governments at all levels and leading cadres at all levels should conscientiously implement the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee on scientific and technological innovation, implement the innovation driven development strategy, respect labor, respect knowledge, respect talents and respect creation, follow the law of scientific development, promote the continuous emergence of scientific and technological innovation achievements and transform them into real productive forces. Leading cadres should strengthen their study of new scientific knowledge and pay attention to the global trend of scientific and technological development.
Marx once said: "There is no flat road in science. Only those who are not afraid of hard work and climb along steep mountain roads can hope to reach the glorious peak." I believe that the vast number of scientists and scientific and technological workers in our country have the confidence, will, and ability to reach the peak of science and make due contributions to the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the promotion of the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind!

Source: People's Daily-People's Daily