The AI-Chemist system performs a chemical experiment at a laboratory in the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, Oct. 21, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

An article by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on strengthening basic research to achieve China's high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology (sci-tech) will be published on Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday. 

The article further underscored the great importance that China's top leader attaches to achieving self-reliance and strength in sci-tech, as the global sci-tech competition is heating up and some countries have resorted to protectionist moves and even sanctions to undermine global sci-tech cooperation.

At present, it is imperative to strengthen basic research and address critical technological issues from the source and at the fundamental level in the face of international scientific and technological competition, Xi's article says, according to Xinhua. 

The article by Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will be published in this year's 15th issue of the Qiushi Journal, a flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee. It noted that strengthening basic research is an imperative requirement for China to achieve self-reliance and strength in sci-tech.

Before the article, the Chinese top leader has repeatedly stressed the importance of strengthening basic research. In February, while presiding over the third group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Xi stressed that strengthening basic research is an imperative for higher-level self-reliance and greater strength in sci-tech, and is the only path to building China into a world leader in sci-tech.

With such great importance attached by the top leader to basic research, China has made strides in increasing resources to support basic research. In 2022, China's total expenditure on research and development (R&D) jumped 10.4 percent year-on-year to 3.09 trillion yuan ($456 billion), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Investment in basic research jumped 7.4 percent year-on-year to 195.1 billion yuan, the NBS said.

"Achieving self-reliance and strength in sci-tech is critical for our country's high-quality development and breaththroughs in a series of bottleneck issues," Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Li noted that sci-tech development is also crucial for safeguarding China's national security and interests. "When self-reliance and strength are achieved in various areas, risks to national security would be reduced," he said, adding that enterprises will be encouraged to bolster their innovation capabilities and gain international advantages in cutting-edge fields.

Global Times