By Staff Reporters

The results of sci-tech innovation during the 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP) period (2021-2025) have laid a solid foundation for building a country strong in science and technology, and the 15th FYP period (2026-2030) is a crucial and critical time for achieving this goal, said Yin Hejun, Minister of Science and Technology.

Yin made the remarks during an interview with Science and Technology Daily, sharing his insights on the ministry's plans to promote sci-tech development in the next five years.

He called the 14th FYP period a milestone in the development history of China's science and technology cause.

China's capacity for sci-tech innovation has steadily improved. The integration between technological and industrial innovation is accelerating, with new quality productive forces flourishing. Sci-tech innovation achievements have benefited people's well-being.

Substantial improvement in sci-tech self-reliance and strength is listed as a major objective for national economic and social development during the 15th FYP period. To achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology and steer the development of new quality productive forces, measures will be taken in four specific aspects.

Yin said promoting advances in original innovation and breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields would strengthen the foundation of technological support; promoting in-depth integration between technological and industrial innovation would enable coordinated development of sci-tech and industry, accelerating the cultivation of new quality productive forces.

The integrated development of education, science and technology, and human resources plays a fundamental and strategic supporting role in Chinese modernization. Advancing the Digital China initiative means seizing the opportunities of the new technological revolution and industrial transformation, and giving new impetus to economic and social development.

Efforts will be made to deepen reform and allow more application scenarios to be developed and opened to accelerate the transformation and application of major sci-tech achievements. The allocation efficiency of resources will be improved and policy guarantees strengthened to create a favorable ecosystem for deep integration of sci-tech and industrial innovation, as well as building an open and innovative ecosystem with global competitiveness.

In terms of promoting integrated development of education, science and technology, MOST will improve the coherence of planning, coordination of policies, management of resources and evaluation.

Yin underlined the guidance of sci-tech innovation in talent cultivation to build a leading innovation team during the implementation of major national sci-tech tasks and the construction and operation of high-level sci-tech infrastructure.

In addition, the prediction of supply and demand for sci-tech personnel and feedback would be improved. Scientists would be given greater autonomy in scientific research and the use of funds, and the establishment of a classified evaluation system for personnel would be accelerated.