China's scientific and technological strength reaches a new level in 2025: minister

China's science and technology sector made rapid progress in 2025, with the country's scientific and technological strength reaching a new level and a host of achievements emerging, said Yin Hejun, minister of science and technology on Thursday.

During a group interview at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing following the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), Yin offered an overview of China's sci-tech development and achievements in 2025.

"China's sci-tech sector has witnessed rapid development, with its scientific and technological strength ascending to new heights. The country has climbed to the 10th position in the global innovation ranking. China's gross domestic research and development spending in 2025 exceeded 3.92 trillion yuan (about 568 billion U.S. dollars), with the spending intensity reaching 2.8 percent. Basic research investment approached 280 billion yuan (about 41 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 7.08 percent of the total -- topping 7 percent for the first time and hitting a historic high," said the minister.

Yin also highlighted the bounty of breakthroughs in China's sci-tech sector over the past year.

"A flourishing array of scientific and technological achievements has emerged. Humanoid robots dazzled audiences at the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, evolving from performing Yangge folk dance and twirling handkerchiefs last year to turning somersaults and starring in comedy skits this year, showcasing a versatile repertoire of skills. China's open-source large language models now lead the world, and new breakthroughs have been made in chip research and development. Moreover, and innovative drugs have seen robust growth. A total of 76 innovative drugs were approved last year, with cross-border out-licensing deals exceeding 130 billion U.S. dollars. Technology has empowered industries across the board, significantly improving people's quality of life," he said.

The fourth session of the 14th NPC kicked off on Thursday and is set to conclude on March 12.

China's scientific and technological strength reaches a new level in 2025: minister

Russia may stop supplying natural gas to European Union (EU) countries earlier than expected for reasons of commercial expediency, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview on Wednesday.

The EU countries "plan to introduce new restrictions on the purchase of Russian gas in a month, and in a year to tighten them to a complete ban," said Putin.

"Other markets are now opening up. Maybe it would be more profitable for us to stop supplies to the European market right now, and establish ourselves in new export directions," he said. "There is no political subtext in this."

At the same time, he noted that these are just "thoughts out loud," not a decision that has been made.

In January, the Council of the European Union approved a ban on imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the EU, with a full ban entering into force from January 2027 for LNG and from the autumn of 2027 for pipeline gas.

For pipeline gas and LNG combined, Russia accounted for around 13 percent of total EU gas imports in 2025, according to the council.

Russia may halt EU gas supplies early amid planned sanctions, says Putin