Local officials and tech innovators say Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, or the Beijing E-Town, on Monday has inspired fresh determination in the sci-tech community to strengthen innovation and push for greater self-reliance in the science and technology sector.
The visit by Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, to the E-Town's national information technology (IT) innovation park, came as China places greater emphasis on advancing industrial policies, achieving tech self-reliance, and fostering sustainable, high-quality growth for the coming years.
Located by the Tongming Lake in southeast Beijing's Yizhuang area, the IT innovation park was established in 2019 by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Beijing Municipal Government, with the aim of coordinating resources and accelerating scientific and technological breakthroughs from the laboratory into mainstream industry.
During his visit, Xi viewed displays showcasing some of the country's sci-tech achievements in various cutting-edge fields including artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
He stressed that sci-tech self-reliance and strength is the "key" in China's efforts to build a great modern socialist country and urged Beijing to leverage its unique strengths to make greater contributions in this regard.
Local officials at the park said Xi's visit has motivated them to push for even greater sci-tech breakthroughs.
"I briefed the general secretary on the development of Beijing's AI industry. He encouraged us to aim at the global scientific and technological frontiers and make continued efforts in strengthening basic research capabilities and enhancing our capacity in original innovation. I felt deeply encouraged and inspired," said Zhang Jihong, director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.
The park is home to over 90 percent of China's leading IT firms, hosting about 1,000 companies in central processing units, operating systems, databases, supercomputers and other fields.
This crucial hub has in recent years expanded into emerging frontiers such as AI, quantum information, 6G communications, and intelligent hardware.
During his tour, Xi also spoke with researchers and the heads of tech enterprises based at the site and expressed greater confidence in China's sci-tech innovation capabilities after seeing the latest achievements at the park.
"The general secretary showed strong interest in the development of humanoid robots. He asked about their performance in robotics competitions, including how high one particular model could jump. He was very approachable. We now feel more confident in advancing Beijing's robotics industry and doing better in following the general secretary's instructions," said Kong Lei, secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, who briefed Xi on the development of the embodied AI industry in the Chinese capital.
Meanwhile, Lei Jun, the founder and CEO of Chinese tech firm and electric car manufacturer Xiaomi, was among those present at the park during Xi's visit. He vowed to continue striving for greater innovation to help advance the country's high-quality development goals.
"I think this visit sends a clear message that the country is accelerating efforts to foster new quality productive forces driven by sci-tech innovation. We will bear the general secretary's encouragement in mind and translate it into stronger motivation and determination in the sci-tech community to accelerate innovation," said Lei.
Xi's visit to Beijing E-Town inspires sci-tech community to advance innovation, self-reliance
Xi's visit to Beijing E-Town inspires sci-tech community to advance innovation, self-reliance
