On November 24, 2017, What Shall We Do in the New Era? New Achievements in Scientific and Technological Innovation, a special program of CCTV’s Focus Report, was broadcasted, which included an interview with CASTED President Hu Zhijian on the topic of science, technology and innovation strategy

As mentioned in the Focus Report, innovation sits on the top of the list of the five development concepts. It provides the primary driving force of development, and strategic support for the building of a modernized economy. The 19th Party Congress proposed to speed up the building of an innovative country and put scientific and technological innovation in a more important position. In particular, it emphasized that we must devote more energy in the frontier, basic, original and key areas of science and technology to provide strong support for the building of a strong country in science and technology. In the past five years, a number of research and application results in these areas have been produced, and a group of world-class projects have been completed.

Talking about Tiankun and other high-tech equipment vital to the country’s development, Hu Zhijian said: “We want to build islands, but there is nowhere in the world to buy the equipment needed, so we can only develop our own capabilities. All the machines and ships that we use to build the islands are invented by ourselves. We have organized a big team of scientists and engineers to overcome this challenge and acquire the equipment we need to build the islands. These are the equipment vital to our country’s development... As a big country, we have many security needs, such as economic security, competitiveness security, national defense security, marine safety, and production safety, all of which require the support of long-term development strategies. Therefore, the country needs to invest a lot of public resources in the R&D or making of these vital equipment. This is the landmark of the science and technology capability of our country.”

Talking about the goal of strengthening the national innovation system and strategic technological forces, Hu Zhijian said: “National laboratories must be established in response to the country’s strategic needs. They must be large in scale, overlapping in disciplines, and feature cutting-edge capabilities. They must bring together the best scientific and technological resources in the country. In particular, building national laboratories is a must in areas that are the focus of international competition. This is called strategic technological force… Following the 19th Party Congress, China will explore the feasibility of establishing national laboratories.” Hu stressed: “Our country is entering a new era. Value creation or innovation relies on science and technology. To convert scientific and technological achievements into actual productive forces is a common challenge for the world. Only when science and technology are transformed into real productivity, can they become the products of companies and market values that can improve people’s livelihood and living standards, and meet people’s needs for a better life.”