Wan Gang, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), gave a speech at a seminar on boosting basic research and innovation-driven development on Oct 20.

At the meeting organized by the Committee on Education, Science, Health and Sports of the CPPCC National Committee, Wan acknowledged China's progress in science and technology development in recent years and also mentioned problems that need to be resolved, such as inadequate initial innovation capability and low overall efficiency of the national innovation system.

Wan, who is also chairman of the Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party and president of the China Association for Science and Technology, said basic research should be driven by curiosity and need while addressing pragmatic problems arising from the country's economic and social development. He called for deepening sci-tech system reform to form a comprehensive pro-innovation environment, improving work evaluation to unleash the vigor of scientific research personnel, and actively carrying out international exchanges to attract top-notch professionals.

At the meeting, members of the CPPCC National Committee discussed many topics related to China's innovation-driven strategy, such as providing fundamental support and fostering world-class talents in basic research, and also exchanged views with officials from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.