Boost Basic Research and Achieve Greater Strength and Self-Reliance in Science and Technology

Boost Basic Research and Achieve Greater Strength and Self-Reliance in Science and Technology*

February 21, 2023

Today we gather here for the third group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The theme is on how to strengthen our country’s basic research. During this session, we will assess the current situation and identify the challenges we face. We will also explore successful practices in other countries and discuss measures to facilitate our own basic research.

Strengthening basic research is urgently required to achieve greater strength and self-reliance in science and technology. It is the only path to building China into a world leader in this domain. The Party and the state have always attached great importance to basic research. After the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, the Party Central Committee called on the country to “march towards science”. Since then, our scientists and engineers, through uncompromising efforts and self-reliance, have delivered a number of significant achievements in basic research. These include the development of our first atomic bomb, missile, and man-made satellite; the synthesis of bovine insulin; breakthroughs in the theory of functions of several complex variables; and progress towards proving Goldbach’s conjecture. Reform and opening up ushered in a “spring for science” in China, with the subsequent implementation of the 863 Program, the Climbing Program, and the 973 Program, each significantly improving our country’s overall capability and raising our academic performance. Since the Party’s 18th National Congress in 2012, the Central Committee has further prioritized capacity building in original innovation. A number of major projects have been launched, and key sci-tech infrastructure facilities have been constructed, leading to a steady stream of original and innovative outcomes in basic and leading-edge research.

During the current round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation, interdisciplinary integration is expanding steadily, the paradigms of scientific research are experiencing profound change, and sci-tech advances are being more rapidly translated into economic and social development. The lead time required to commercialize basic research findings has decreased significantly, and international competition in science and technology is focusing more on basic and leading-edge areas. In the face of international competition, it is crucial that we strengthen basic research and address key technological issues at the source and the underlying level in order to achieve greater strength and self-reliance in science and technology, foster a new development dynamic, and realize high-quality development. For this reason, the report to the 20th CPC National Congress emphasizes the need to strengthen basic research, prioritize original innovation, and encourage researchers to engage in free exploration. We must ensure the full implementation of the strategic plans it has set out.

First, we should emphasize forward-looking, strategic and systematic planning. Basic research is the initial stage of a scientific research chain that eventually ends with application. Only by establishing strong foundations can we build the tower of science and technology to greater heights. We must prioritize future and strategic needs in research, and optimize the allocation and structure of resources, to provide fundamental theories and technological sources for innovation-driven development.

Our goals must be to target global sci-tech frontiers, serve the economy, meet major national needs, and strive to improve people’s lives and health. We should balance the pursuit of specific objectives against the freedom to explore new directions. Research targeting global sci-tech frontiers should be integrated with China’s strategic needs and socio-economic development goals. To identify key scientific issues for basic research, we should consider both cutting-edge questions based on the laws intrinsic to scientific development and the theoretical questions generalized from major applied research projects. To stay abreast of the development trends of science and technology and our country’s strategic needs, we should improve the feasibility study, evaluation, and selection of major basic research projects. These processes require careful consideration of the advice given by scientists, good understanding of major trends, and a proactive approach. To strengthen China’s strategic science and technology, we must systematically promote three types of basic research: structured research on strategic orientation, explorative research targeting scientific frontiers, and applied research driven by the market. It is essential to capitalize on the pivotal role of national laboratories, orchestrate efforts through national scientific research institutions, utilize high-level research universities as the main force, and ensure that leading high-tech enterprises propose research topics, provide solutions, and evaluate outcomes. To ensure the well-rounded and balanced development of high-level disciplines, we must refine the framework of fundamental disciplines, support the development of pivotal, emerging, marginal and underdeveloped disciplines, and promote interdisciplinary integration and cross-disciplinary exploration.

Second, we must reform institutions and mechanisms. The world has entered the era of Big Science, where basic research is becoming more systematically organized and where institutional support and policy guidance exert an ever-greater influence on the results. Our country has established preliminary systems and mechanisms to support basic research and original innovation, but these still need to mature. We must devise optimized and detailed reforms to leverage the role of relevant systems and policies in driving value and strategy.

It is essential to steadily increase fiscal support. This can be achieved by stimulating corporate investment through tax breaks and other means, by encouraging non-governmental entities to diversify investments — including the establishment of funds and the practice of philanthropy in science, and by boosting the effectiveness of the National Natural Science Fund and its joint funds. Through such means, we will create and improve a funding mechanism that combines competition-based support with stable funding. It is important to refine the support system for basic research within national sci-tech programs. We should refine the processes for organizing, submitting, assessing and approving projects, which require differentiated management by category and both international and domestic peer reviews. Additionally, we should organize collaborative research on significant scientific issues, and encourage free exploration and non-consensus research. We should effectively handle the relationship between the market and our new system for mobilizing resources nationwide, and improve our systems to accommodate the extended timelines typical of basic research projects, which involve evaluating and incentivizing sci-tech achievements, the application and commercialization of research findings, and the remuneration of sci-tech professionals. We should provide long-term and steady support to innovation bases, elite teams, and key areas of basic research, in order to foster wellsprings of original innovation and forerunners in basic research. While increasing funding for basic research is a general trend, it is also important that investment aligns with our national financial means. We must strengthen performance appraisal during the implementation process to ensure funds are used where they are most needed.

Third, we should build a high-level support platform. One long-standing issue in China’s basic research is a lack of self-dependence. We rely on international journals and platforms to select research topics, depend on equipment procured from abroad, and then pay overseas journals to publish our findings. In recent years, our country has invested great time and effort in developing our own world-class sci-tech journals and pioneering equipment, and this has already significantly improved our basic research capacity. But there is still a considerable distance to cover before this problem is fully resolved.

Efforts should be coordinated to establish a framework of national laboratories best suited to conditions in China. We must build research centers for basic disciplines, set up special zones, and create future-oriented and information-based platforms, thus forming a robust network. We should carefully plan major infrastructure facilities to support pioneering sci-tech development, national strategies, and the application of research findings. We will strengthen both ongoing and post-completion oversight of the construction of these facilities, improve full life-cycle management, increase their level of openness and sharing, and raise operational efficiency. We must dedicate efforts to developing our own sci-tech instruments and equipment, operating systems, and fundamental software. We should encourage collaboration among scientific research institutions, universities, and enterprises to advance the development and application of domestically developed alternatives, striving as quickly as we can to use our own research platforms, instruments, and equipment to solve major issues in basic research. It is essential to foster world-class sci-tech journals, build globally recognized platforms for sci-tech literature and data, initiate top-tier international academic conferences, encourage the initial publication of significant research findings in Chinese journals and on Chinese platforms, and ensure the early application of such findings in China.

Fourth, we must cultivate professionals. Ultimately, advancing basic research hinges on high-caliber talent. In recent years, we have continued to implement a strategy for building China into a talent powerhouse, and advanced reforms in both institutional frameworks and mechanisms pertaining to talent. Despite noteworthy progress, there still exist clear deficiencies. We must therefore intensify efforts to create a well-organized and optimal platform for nurturing talent, to ensure a steady emergence of specialists.

Talent-training programs should increase their backing for those in basic research. We must cultivate science strategists and effectively leverage their expertise, and encourage young sci-tech professionals to take on pivotal roles and challenges. Additionally, we should expand our pool of leading scientists and engineers and build first-class innovation teams. We must clarify our approach to appraisals in the wake of discarding the Four Overemphases. We should improve differentiated performance assessment and long-term support mechanisms for professionals in basic research. We must grant leading scientists and engineers greater authority and freedom to oversee research teams, allocate funds and resources, and determine technology roadmaps. Furthermore, we should establish an appraisal system that aligns with the tenets of basic research and the progression of talent development. We should improve academic integrity and conduct in scientific research. Through education on ethics and proper supervision, we will bolster academic conduct and guide researchers away from hyperbole and haste, while encouraging their dedication to work. We must cultivate our own talent in basic research, channeling efforts towards the Middle-school Talented Students Program, the Strengthening Fundamentals Initiative, and the Program for Cultivating Outstanding Students in Basic Disciplines. We will refine the education framework for basic disciplines and leverage the primary role of universities, especially first-rate institutions with first-class disciplines, in training fundamental researchers. Priority will be given to fostering high­ caliber talent for our country’s urgent needs. Through these measures, we can establish a vast and sustainable talent pool for research.

Fifth, we should engage in extensive international cooperation. International sci-tech collaboration is currently experiencing disruptions and obstacles due to unilateralism and protectionism practiced by a handful of countries. International cooperation, openness, and sharing are now more essential than ever for tackling challenges that impact all of humanity. No country can become a hub of innovation in isolation, nor should any country seek to reap its benefits alone. It is therefore important that we adopt a more open-minded approach to international exchange and cooperation in research to create an open, globally competitive innovation ecosystem.

We will establish international cooperation platforms for basic research, spearhead international Big Science plans and projects, set up globally oriented scientific research funds, and increase international involvement in our national sci-tech programs. We should broaden and intensify collaborative scientific research with other countries, to address global issues like climate change, energy security, biosafety, and the utilization of outer space. We should proactively plan for and fully engage in global sci-tech governance. We will participate in existing international sci-tech organizations and establish new ones. We will support our universities, research institutions, and sci-tech entities in aligning with international standards, while improving our own laws and regulations, ethical review processes, and supervisory framework. We must have the courage and capacity to confront difficulties as we strive for greater openness, mutual trust, and cooperation within the global sci-tech community. We will continue to make breakthroughs in original innovation and core technologies that contribute to the progress of human civilization, while at the same time effectively safe­ guarding the sci-tech security and interests of our country.

Sixth, we must create an innovation ecosystem conducive to basic research. Both material support and intellectual inspiration are indispensable for conducting basic research. Each generation of Chinese scientists and engineers has formed its own pioneering spirit, such as the spirit demonstrated in the development of China’s first atomic bomb, missile, and man-made satellite, in the westward relocation, in the manned space program, in the lunar exploration program, and in the development of the BeiDou navigation satellite system in the new era; and on top of that, the spirit of dedication to science behind all these achievements. Through consistent endeavors, they have forged a unique Chinese innovation ecosystem, providing inexhaustible energy for driving our country’s basic research forward.

It is important to promote a spirit of science throughout society that values the pursuit of truth and the advance of knowledge. We should highlight the stories of role models in the development of science and technology, guide our sci-tech professionals to carry forward the illustrious traditions of past generations who dedicated themselves to our country and people, and encourage them to root their research in the land of China and apply their findings to drive socialist modernization. We should improve our national capacity for popularizing science, and continue to implement the scientific literacy initiative. By disseminating scientific knowledge and China’s scientific achievements through various online and offline channels, we can cultivate a social ethos that values and champions science. Science should be more deeply integrated into education. While we work to relieve students of excessive burdens from homework and off-campus tutoring during the compulsory education stage, it is imperative to boost science in education in order to spark interest in science among our youth. By igniting their curiosity, imagination, and quest for truth, we will nourish a generation of young people with the potential and enthusiasm to pursue a future in scientific research.

Party committees and governments at all levels must prioritize basic research in their work concerning science and technology. They should bolster coordination and policy support to facilitate the high-quality development of basic research. Leaders and officials at every level should actively expand their knowledge of science and technology and advance the spirit of science. They should proactively address difficulties faced by sci-tech professionals, minimize constraints, ease their workload, and offer them support and encouragement. They must rigorously implement the Party Central Committee’s strategic plans regarding sci-tech innovation.

* Speech at the third group study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)