Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday emphasized the urgent need to strengthen basic research and enhance original innovation at a key symposium in Shanghai, drawing widespread support from experts and industry leaders.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for greater efforts and more concrete measures to strengthen basic research, enhance China's capacity for original innovation, and further solidify the foundation for building the country's strength in science and technology.
Speaking at a symposium on strengthening basic research, Xi stressed the crucial role basic research plays as the origin of all scientific endeavors and the master switch for technological development.
Basic research, which improves scientific theories to better understand and predict natural and other phenomena, forms the bedrock of innovation.
"Looking at the entire history of global scientific and technological development, the entire innovation process starts with basic research, which leads to technological innovation and ultimately brings about profound changes that transform human society. This innovation pathway is very clear," said Fang Zhong, director of the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"From an enterprise perspective, I deeply appreciate the importance of applied basic research for business growth. In my field of mobile communications, many major innovations originate from market-driven applied research, which in turn continuously drives the prosperity of both companies and the entire industry chain," said Wang Xiaoyun, chief scientist at China Mobile, while underscoring the link to industry.
China has consistently prioritized technological development. Just a year ago, Xi visited an AI incubator in Shanghai, saying "AI is a nascent industry, and it's also an industry that belongs to young people".
At the symposium, Xi highlighted the need to integrate education, science and technology, and talent development by cultivating, introducing, and utilizing talent to expand the pool for basic research. Many delegates at the symposium were university representatives motivated by this vision.
"Time awaits for none. With a foundation and planning, we can act now. For example, in nuclear fusion--a field of future energy, once national directions are set, we'll bring in specialized teams. The core of AI is talent cultivation," said Ding Kuiling, president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
"Our primary mission is talent cultivation. In the AI era, we must reform with the goal of training people who have a strong foundational knowledge and sound AI literacy to meet the needs of the new era," said Chang Jin, president of the University of Science and Technology of China.
China marked historic innovation achievements in 2025, with record-high R and D investment and breakthroughs in humanoid robotics, AI, and biotechnology. The country's total R and D spending reached 3.92 trillion yuan (570 billion U.S. dollars), 2.8 percent of GDP.
Notably, basic research funding surpassed 7 percent of total R and D spending for the first time, hitting nearly 280 billion yuan, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Experts hail Xi’s call to boost basic research
