Ministry of Science and Technology： The total number of R&D personnel in China has remained the highest in the world for many years.

　　CCTV News:On February 24th, the Press Office of the State Council held a series of press conferences on the theme of "Opening by Authorities". At the press conference, Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology, introduced the new progress of the national scientific and technological circles in studying and implementing the spirit of the 20th Party Congress and accelerating the new measures of self-reliance and self-improvement of high-level science and technology.

　　Wang Zhigang introduced that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core has placed scientific and technological innovation at the core of the overall development of the country, and promoted China’s scientific and technological undertakings to achieve historic achievements and changes, from independent innovation to self-reliance, from following participation to leading development, from breakthrough in key areas to improvement of system capabilities. This decade is a decade of leap-forward development of China’s scientific and technological undertakings, the fastest decade of improvement of China’s scientific and technological innovation capabilities, and the most prominent decade of the role of science and technology as the primary productive force. The ranking of China’s global innovation index rose from the 34th in 2012 to the 11th in 2022, and it successfully entered the ranks of innovative countries, opening a new stage of realizing high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and building a powerful country in science and technology. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China insists on the core position of innovation in the overall situation of China’s modernization, regards education, science and technology and talents as the basic and strategic support for building a socialist modern country in an all-round way, and makes special chapters for the first time. This is a major strategic choice made by the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core, based on the current situation and with a long-term perspective.

　　Wang Zhigang said that the national scientific and technological circles have thoroughly studied and implemented the spirit and decision-making arrangements of the 20th Party Congress, overcome difficulties and worked hard, all walks of life have worked together to tackle key problems, the eastern, central and western regions have cooperated in innovation, the science and technology industry has developed in a financial way, and the reform and innovation have been promoted in an all-round way, thus forming a majestic force that the whole country is United and determined to innovate. Scientific and technological innovation has played an unprecedented role in the overall cause of the party and the country. Scientific and technological empowerment has become a remarkable symbol of high-quality development, and scientific and technological innovation has become an important driving force to lead the modernization drive.

　　— — The strength of science and technology has jumped, and its influence on the global innovation map has been significantly enhanced. The R&D expenditure of the whole society increased from 1 trillion in 2012 to 3.09 trillion in 2022, and the R&D investment intensity increased from 1.91% to 2.55%. The investment in basic research increased from 49.9 billion yuan in 2012 to about 195.1 billion yuan in 2022, accounting for 4.8% to 6.3% of the total R&D expenditure. The total number of R&D personnel has increased from 3.25 million person-years in 2012 to more than 6 million person-years in 2022, ranking first in the world for many years. The top one thousandth of the world’s hot papers cited account for 41.7% of the global total, and highly cited papers account for 27.3%. China is not only an important participant in international frontier innovation, but also an important contributor to solving global problems.

　　— — Science and technology are fully empowered to provide more high-level source supply for high-quality development. Adhere to the goal-oriented and free exploration of "walking on two legs", and achieve a number of original achievements with international influence in basic research fields such as quantum information and brain science, and play a leading role in innovation in several important fields. Adhere to pay equal attention to short board and long board, and achieve breakthroughs in key core technologies of key industries such as high-performance equipment, intelligent robots and laser manufacturing. Actively deploy new tracks, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and 5G accelerate the application of the scene. Focus on the two key issues of seeds and cultivated land, and strongly support and ensure national food security. Facing people’s life and health, scientific and technological innovation provides more accurate and comprehensive support for disease prevention, public health and coping with population aging. The infiltration, diffusion and subversive functions of scientific and technological innovation are fully manifested, and they are deeply integrated into all fields of economic and social development and all aspects of people’s lives, greatly improving the quality and lasting motivation of China’s development, and creating a broader new vision and bringing better new expectations for Chinese modernization.

　　— — The reform has made great efforts, and the overall efficiency of the national innovation system has been significantly improved. The reform of the scientific and technological system has been accelerated in three years, and many breakthroughs have been made in key areas. Strengthen the construction of national strategic scientific and technological strength, accelerate the construction of national laboratory system with China characteristics, and high-level research universities and research institutes play a key role in implementing major national scientific and technological tasks. The main position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation has been further improved. The number of high-tech enterprises has increased from 39,000 in 2012 to 400,000 in 2022, contributing 68% of the R&D investment of national enterprises, and 762 enterprises have entered the top 2,500 global enterprises in R&D investment. We will promote the construction of international and regional science and technology innovation centers as a whole. A new round of Zhongguancun will take the lead in adding and deducting basic research and development expenses and paying for scientific and technological achievements after trial. 23 national self-created zones and 177 national high-tech zones have become the vanguard of high-quality development. The legal policies and cultural environment conducive to scientific and technological innovation have been further optimized, and the enthusiasm of the whole society to support, invest in, participate in and promote innovation has never been higher.

　　— — Expand open cooperation and actively create an innovative ecology conducive to international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation. Open cooperation is an inherent requirement for the development of science and technology itself, and it is also an inevitable requirement for coping with global common challenges. We adhere to the concept of open, inclusive and mutually beneficial international scientific and technological cooperation, establish scientific and technological cooperation relations with more than 160 countries and regions, and participate in more than 200 international organizations and multilateral mechanisms. Extensive international cooperative research has been carried out in key areas such as climate change, clean energy and COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control, and joint funding has been carried out with more than 60 countries, regions and international organizations. The "Belt and Road" scientific and technological innovation action plan has achieved fruitful results and built a number of joint laboratories. Take the lead in organizing international major scientific plans and projects, and actively participate in international major scientific projects such as international thermonuclear fusion experimental reactor and square kilometer array radio telescope. Build more international scientific and technological exchange and cooperation platforms in key areas, provide a broad development stage for talents from all countries who come to work in China, and make China a fertile ground for global innovation and entrepreneurship.

　　Wang Zhigang said that in 2022, with the joint efforts of all scientific and technological workers, China’s scientific and technological innovations were fruitful, and good news spread frequently. The three modules of Tianhe, Zhentian and Mengtian gathered in Tianyu, and the China Space Station stood proudly in space. A number of major innovations such as Kuafu’s exploration of the sun, Qinghai-Tibet expedition, micro-nano satellites, quantum transmission and proton therapy emerged one after another. The expenditure on R&D in the whole society exceeded 3 trillion yuan for the first time, the intensity of R&D investment exceeded 2.5% for the first time, and the proportion of basic research investment exceeded 6% for four consecutive years. Breakthroughs have been made in tackling key core technologies, and new steps have been taken in building the country’s strategic scientific and technological strength. The "Science and Technology Winter Olympics" ensures high-quality hosting and high-level participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics, and scientific research has made important contributions to a major and decisive victory in national epidemic prevention and control.

　　Wang Zhigang pointed out that this year is the first year to study and implement the spirit of the 20th Party Congress. In the field of science and technology, "opening a new bureau and seeking new articles" is to be a "pioneer" in reshaping new advantages in development; In building a new development pattern, do a good job of "boosting engine"; Play a "key role" in Chinese modernization. At present and in the future, we will fully implement the spirit of the 20th Party Congress and the major decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, focus on the strategic direction of "four orientations", base ourselves on the frontier characteristics and evolution trend of world science and technology, and seize the great opportunities of new scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation; Based on the characteristics of scientific and technological innovation in China, strengthen the clear orientation of self-reliance and self-improvement of high-level science and technology; Based on the stage characteristics of the new era, we will effectively guarantee national development and strategic security.

　　Wang Zhigang said, we firmly believe that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core, the national scientific and technological circles will further strengthen their innovation and self-confidence, strive to overcome difficulties, bravely climb the peak of science and technology, unswervingly implement the strategic deployment put forward by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, accelerate the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance, make a good start and make an irreplaceable contribution to building a socialist modern country in an all-round way.