Artificial intelligence (AI) technology can replace human beings in certain fields, but people-to-people exchanges will remain the most important part of human life, the country's science and technology minister said Thursday while attending a press conference to examine China's achievements in research and development in 2015.

"I prefer playing chess with humans since there can be communication [between rivals], which is irreplaceable," said Minister Wan Gang, after AI scored an unexpected triumph over humanity in the ancient Chinese board game Go on Wednesday.

Supercomputers in China have continued to evolve, and AI development will advance human labor and provide human beings better life, Wan said at Thursday's news conference.

He also highlighted China's work to turn more scientific research results into contributions to economic growth to help the nation fulfill its pledge to become a major power in innovation by 2020.

Wan said that China's scientific development has fulfilled all expectations set forth in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), except in the ratio of gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) to gross domestic product (GDP), which fell 0.1 percentage point short of the scheduled 2.2 percent.

The ratio is planned to exceed 2.5 percent by 2020, as China has pledged to become an innovative country with a large pool of competent professionals by that time under the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

Wan pointed out that China's GERD exceeded 1.4 billion yuan ($214 million) in 2015, with the business sector contributing some 77 percent.

"Incentives like tax exemptions or reductions for high-tech companies have guided and encouraged companies to focus on cutting-edge technology ... Thanks to increased investment from enterprises, government funds can now be transferred to fields like social philanthropy and national strategies such as aeronautic and space technology," Wan said.

Meanwhile, China plans to increase the percentage of science and technology research results that are utilized in actual industrial products and processes from 55.3 percent in 2015 to 60 percent by 2020.

According to Wan, the total volume of business transactions in the technology market topped 983 billion yuan by the end of 2015. However, a structural problem remains, as 80 percent of transactions were made between companies.

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