The opening meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China,
March 5, 2024. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By Staff Reporters

China made new breakthroughs in sci-tech innovation last year, and will continue efforts for greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology in 2024, according to the Government Work Report delivered at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) on March 5.

In 2023, China made major headway in establishing a system of national laboratories and achieved fruitful results in developing core technologies in key fields, according to the report.

Substantial progress was made in the R&D of high-end equipment, such as aircraft engines, gas turbines and fourth-generation nuclear power units. A series of innovations emerged in frontier areas such as AI and quantum technology while the volume of contracted technology transactions grew by 28.6 percent. These achievements have further enhanced the capacity for innovation-driven development, the report said.

Supportive policies and measures enabled these achievements, including a significant increase in funding and loans to support sci-tech innovation, and the implementation of major science and technology programs, said the report.

A major task of 2024 is to invigorate China through science and education and consolidate the foundations for high-quality development. According to the report, the capacity for original innovation will be enhanced with the cultivation of more first-class scientists and innovation teams. Research on disruptive and frontier technologies will be stepped up.

The report said the principal role of enterprises in sci-tech innovation will be reinforced, and R&D and application of technologies that promote people's wellbeing strengthened. Intellectual property rights protection will be bolstered and policies and measures formulated for better application of sci-tech advances.

China will also expand science and technology exchanges and cooperation with other countries, promote international personnel exchanges, and create an open and globally competitive innovation ecosystem, the report added.