The 2024 Global Times Annual Conference. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The fundamental needs of the Chinese people are the root of China's innovations, and only by returning to peoples' everyday lives will our technology and innovation have greater possibilities, Shen Yang, a professor at Tsinghua University's School of Journalism and Communication, said on Saturday at the 2024 Global Times Annual Conference.

It's not hard to drive sci-tech innovations, and what really hard is keeping sci-tech innovations a constant, Shen said, noting that it's important to link innovations with everyday life.

Scientific modernization is key for overall Chinese modernization. Technology is an important engine for the advancement of a society and an important guarantee for the sustained development of the society, Ni Guangnan, a noted Chinese scientist, said in a speech to the conference via video.

"We need to stick to sci-tech innovations and the nurture of talent in order to boost Chinese modernization in a high-quality way," Ni said, noting that only by continuously enriching talent reserves can China create sustained sci-tech innovation capability and achieve high-level sci-tech self-reliance.

Currently, China leads the world in about 10 percent of innovative sectors, ranks among the top group in 15 percent of related areas, Lü Benfu, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said at the conference on Saturday.

China has three advantages in driving further innovation, including a whole-of-nation system to support innovative moves, a vast number of science and engineering graduates, and a complete industrial system, Lü said.

The number of science and engineering graduates in China has exceeded that of the combined of developed countries, serving as important talent resources for the country's innovations, Lü said, noting that further education is needed to nurture for the making of world-class talent.

Meanwhile, China needs to strengthen its weakness in aspects such as transformation of sci-tech achievements and original innovations, according to Lü.

Shen said that a number of sectors including artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous driving and humanoid robotics have recently reported exponential growth, with some unicorns expected to emerge in these areas. In addition, industrial links that China steps up its capacity amid the US' high-tech crackdown and sectors related to the country's "go global" strategy and Belt and Road Initiative are expected to have vast growth potential, he said.