杭州市科学技术协会

Zhang Yuzhuo, secretary of the leading Party members' group, chief executive secretary of the Secretariat and vice president of the China Association for Science and Technology

The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized that “we must regard science and technology as our primary productive force,” that “innovation will remain at the heart of China’s modernization drive,” and that “we must do a better job of seeing that the gains of modernization benefit all our people fairly.” In the history of China, science and technology has never had a more profound impact on the people’s happiness and well-being than it is having today. More than ever before, China needs sci-tech solutions for socioeconomic development and the people’s well-being. It’s all the more necessary to develop science and technology as the primary productive force.

In answer to the call of “science and technology for the people” in recent years, Chinese scientific and technological workers have redoubled their efforts to make scientific and technological breakthroughs so as to deliver the benefits of science and technology to average Chinese families. To meet the people’s healthcare needs, China has promoted the use of domestically manufactured magnetic resonance, color Doppler ultrasound, CT, and other high-end medical equipment, which has reduced the people’s medical costs. Guided by the idea that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” China has developed and utilized new technologies such as clean and efficient combustion and ultra-low emission of multiple pollutants from the iron and steel indusrtry, which has effectively reduced air pollutants and improved the air quality. In the aspect of food security, the contribution rate of sci-tech progress to agricultural growth has exceeded 61%, which has provided strong support for the realization of “18 consecutive years of bumper harvest.” Key breakthroughs have been made in the development of the C919 aircraft, 600 km/h maglev train, and new-energy vehicles, and in the commercial application of 5G technologyand other civil technologies.

To promote “science and technology for the people,” the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) has collaborated with other organizations to build the platform of “Innovation China”, and, as a major measure, 137 CAST-affiliated national societies and 279 local sci-tech associations have set up 105 service teams of 3,946 experts led by academicians to serve local economies and businesses in need of scientific and technological support. CAST has also sped up the construction of the one-stop platform of “Smart China”. The platform has produced more than 600 strategic decision-making consultation results on the major issues of science and technology and industrial development, which has strengthened the orientation of scientific R&D for the people’s well-being.

The scientific and technological workers have been paying frequent visits to the rural areas and participated in awareness-raising activities such as the National Popular Science Day and the Science and Technology Week, to help cultivate scientific thinking and promote scientific spirit among the general public. Some programs have also been rolled out for this purpose. For example, the first two online lectures of “Tiangong Class”, an educational program livestreamed from China’s Tiangong Space Station on space science and technology, proved a great success, attracting over 4 billion views in total. “China Science Communication”,  CAST’s brand program with a user base of 44 million,  has attracted 43.7 billion views in total,. An education base has been built to promote the spirit of scientists and create a social atmosphere of respecting talents and innovation.

Chinese scientists have worked together with the people to accomplish the feat of lifting nearly 100 million people out of poverty, laying a solid foundation for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. They have used scientific means to build the new model of targeted poverty alleviation, providing technological support for sci-tech industries and helping cultivate talents in poverty-stricken areas, so as to foster new growth drivers for rural revitalization. China Science and Technology Volunteer Corps has a total of 3.6 million registered sci-tech volunteers working at the community level, who are from 72,000 volunteer organizations under all the 500 sci-tech volunteer centers for promoting cultural and moral progress. CAST has also set up 12,000 agricultural technology associations and 359 small sci-tech institutes, removing the last crucial hurdle between universities, research institutes, enterprises and farmers, thereby effectively helping farmers shake off poverty.

Chinese scientific and technological workers have successfully fulfulled their mission and played an important role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. They acted on the belief that the people come first, and life matters most, and helped to win the battle against the pandemic through science and technology. They succeeded  in isolating the first novel coronavirus strain, and completing the R&D, approval and marketing of nucleic acid test reagents as well as vaccine research and development, which demonstrated the speed of China’s response and the strength of China’s system in the fight against the pandemic. CAST’s 191 national societies, over 3,500 provincial societies and 15,000 sci-tech volunteer organizations also carried out emergency science communication, and provided psychological assistance and decision-making consultation services. They refuted rumors about the pandemic through the platform of “Saying No to Rumors through Science,” providing nearly 200 normative guidelines and professional suggestions, which contributed effectively to pandemic prevention and production resumption.

Standing at a new historical starting point, Chinese scientific and technological workers will be able to make greater contributions. CAST will better fulfill its role as a bridge between scientists and the public, and encourage scientists to assume their due responsibilities, so as to serve the country and the people with greater scientific achievements, and make new and greater contributions to China’s modernization drive.

Source: Page 9,Guangming Daily,October 19, 2022