"This award belongs not only to me personally, but even more to every science and technology worker who never stops innovating on the path of science," said Academician Li Deren, now over eighty, unable to hide his excitement.

On the morning of June 24, the National Science and Technology Conference, the National Science and Technology Award Conference, the 21st Academicians' Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the 17th Academicians' Conference of the Chinese Academy of Engineering were held in Beijing. The State Preeminent Science and Technology Award was conferred on Academician Li Deren of Wuhan University and Academician Xue Qikun of Tsinghua University.

High-precision satellite remote sensing is an important strategic high ground in today's competition among major powers. From being constrained by others to catching up with the world's advanced level, Academician Li Deren, as one of the pioneers of China's high-precision and high-resolution Earth observation system, led his team in driving the leapfrog development of China's surveying and mapping remote sensing technology.

The first experimental observation of the quantum anomalous Hall effect, the first discovery of high-temperature superconductivity at heterojunction interfaces... Academician Xue Qikun and his team have achieved a number of leading and important scientific breakthroughs in the field of quantum science research.

"The achievements our team has made in condensed matter physics research are inseparable from the sound research ecosystem that favors basic research," said Academician Xue Qikun with great emotion. "General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech inspires us to seize the day and night, crack challenging and valuable scientific problems, and contribute to building a strong country in science and technology."

The day after the conference opened came an exciting historic moment. At 14:07 on June 25, carrying precious samples collected from the far side of the Moon, the Chang'e-6 returner landed accurately in the designated area of Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia. "The Chang'e-6 mission of the lunar exploration program has achieved complete success!" Applause broke out at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center thousands of miles away.

"The continuous breakthrough achievements of the lunar exploration program are precisely a microcosm of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core leading and promoting the rapid advancement of scientific and technological innovation," said Huang Hao, an expert from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation who participated in the development of the Chang'e-6 probe, overwhelmed with excitement.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has assessed the situation and taken a far-sighted view, consistently placing scientific and technological innovation at the core of the overall national development, putting forward a series of new judgments and new requirements on scientific and technological innovation, and making overall plans and systematic deployments for building a strong country in science and technology.

"Chang'e" embraces the Moon, "Tianhe" resides in space, "Tianwen" explores Mars, "Crust-1" advances deep into the Earth, "Fendouzhe" explores the ten-thousand-meter deep sea, and the world's first fourth-generation nuclear power plant has been put into commercial operation... China's science and technology undertakings have achieved historic accomplishments and undergone historic changes.

The magnificent vista of Chinese modernization changes with each passing day, and innovative China's journey in pursuit of dreams advances with solid steps.

From July 15 to 18, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing. The "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese Modernization" deliberated and adopted at the plenary session proposed building institutional mechanisms that support comprehensive innovation and deepening the reform of the science and technology system. It called for optimizing the organizational mechanisms for major scientific and technological innovation, strengthening key core technology breakthroughs in a coordinated manner, and promoting the systematization, institutionalization, and coordination of the forces, factor allocation, and talent teams of scientific and technological innovation.

The "Decision" proposed strengthening the building of national strategic scientific and technological forces, improving the national laboratory system, and optimizing the positioning and layout of national research institutions, high-level research universities, and leading science and technology enterprises; improving the management of science and technology programs, and strengthening forward-looking and leading layouts in basic research fields, interdisciplinary frontier fields, and key fields.

Research institutes, universities, high-tech enterprises, high-tech industrial development zones... Following the far-sighted vision of the "Decision," we turn our gaze to the places where innovation factors are most active.

Zhangjiang Science City, located in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, is particularly eye-catching. This is the core area and *** science and technology high ground of Shanghai's scientific and technological innovation, gathering a number of major scientific facilities and scientific platforms. From the "blue sky dream" to "China chips," from "innovative drugs" to "intelligent manufacturing"... today, an endless stream of visitors come here to visit the Shanghai Scientific and Technological Innovation Achievements Exhibition. Luo Dajin, director of the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, said that Zhangjiang is accelerating the construction of a world-leading science and technology park, cultivating new momentum for high-quality development through scientific and technological innovation.

From Zhangjiang in Shanghai to Zhongguancun in Beijing, from East Lake in Wuhan to Nanshan in Shenzhen... Under the leadership of one innovation high ground after another, flowers of innovation are blooming in competition.

On May 27 this year, the domestically produced large passenger aircraft numbered B-919G was officially delivered to China Eastern Airlines. This is the sixth C919 aircraft received by China Eastern Airlines and the first aircraft of its additional order of 100 C919 aircraft.

On the coast of the Bohai Sea, a large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier independently developed by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. of China State Shipbuilding Corporation is berthed at the dock, where hundreds of workers are constructing the cargo containment system.

From the commercial flight of domestically produced large aircraft to the signing of the world's largest single shipbuilding order for ultra-large LNG carriers, from high-speed rail technology setting an international benchmark to new energy vehicles going abroad to help low-carbon travel... an increasing number of China's scientific and technological achievements are turning from samples into products, forming industries, and moving toward vast markets.

In 2023, China's total R&D expenditure exceeded 3.3 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world; R&D investment intensity reached 2.64%, exceeding the average level of EU countries; the number of invention patent applications and Patent Cooperation Treaty international patent applications has ranked ** in the world for many years, and the number of highly cited papers remains second in the world; in the Global Innovation Index report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China's ranking rose from 34th in 2012 to 12th in 2023...

Solid data corroborate the tremendous changes in China's scientific and technological innovation, fueling wave upon wave of the innovation tide.

The "Decision" also proposed accelerating the building of national strategic talent forces, focusing on cultivating and bringing up strategic scientists, first-class leading science and technology talents, and innovation teams, focusing on cultivating and bringing up outstanding engineers, great craftsmen of the nation, and highly skilled talents, and improving the quality of all types of talents.

Scientific and technological innovation depends on talent, and talent cultivation depends on education. "The world's unprecedented changes of the century are accelerating, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is developing in depth, and international competition around high-quality talent and the commanding heights of science and technology is unprecedentedly fierce," said Huai Jinpeng, secretary of the Party Group and Minister of the Ministry of Education. "This urgently requires us to follow a path of independent talent cultivation and achieve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening."

The torch of innovation is passed down from generation to generation. At the 14th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, 86-year-old radar expert Academician Ben De insists on guiding students on the front line of scientific research. Under Academician Ben De's personal guidance, the youth research team on microwave photonics, with an average age of under 35, keeps tackling "hard bones," mastering a number of core technologies, and achieving a qualitative improvement in the key performance of microwave photonic systems. A young researcher said, "The older generation of science and technology workers are worth learning from, and we must stand on the shoulders of giants and continue to move forward."

Data from the Ministry of Science and Technology show that China's total number of R&D personnel ranks ** in the world, young scientific and technological talents have become the main force of scientific research, 80% of projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China are undertaken by young people under 45, and in major projects such as the "Beidou" network, "Chang'e" lunar exploration, and the "China Sky Eye," many teams have an average age of just over 30.

When science and technology thrive, the nation thrives; when science and technology are strong, the country is strong.

Building China into a strong country in science and technology is a dream the Chinese nation has diligently pursued since modern times. "We must, with the firm determination and tenacious will to 'grind a sword for ten years,' seize the day and night, immerse ourselves in hard work, and turn this strategic goal into reality step by step."

Standing at a new historical starting point of further comprehensively deepening reform, the ship of "China" braves the wind and waves on its magnificent voyage of comprehensively promoting the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization, forging ahead courageously toward the grand goal of building a strong country in science and technology!