Opening to innovation

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Science, as a lever for the advance of history, has always been closely related to current developments in the world. Since the outbreak of the international financial crisis, many countries have worked vigorously to promote scientific innovation and foster new areas of growth. A new scientific and technological revolution is in the offing with a host of consequential technologies steadily emerging. People expect that scientific innovation's power to penetrate and disseminate can translate into a formidable force to bring the world economy to a steady recovery. We should never stop scaling new heights in global science and technology development as there is no limit to scientific pursuit.

Science and technology bear on the future and destiny of our country. As China marches heroically on the road of modernization, we find ourselves in a rare, important period of strategic opportunities and at the same time confronted with a host of major structural problems. To upgrade our economic structure is an essential direction to ensure continued growth. This requires innovative institutional reforms to enliven the vitality and potential of our society to innovate, create and pioneer in entrepreneurship. We have assigned equal importance to basic research and applied research, steadily increased support for basic, strategic and frontier research, and promoted schemes to turn scientific fruits into real productive force along with new products, new services, new forms of industry and new jobs. Institutional reforms are essential for science and technology advances. We have made special efforts to improve the mechanism of managing scientific research input and to reform the system regarding the right to transfer and benefit from scientific and technological achievements, so that our science workforce will enjoy creative freedom and receive their due respect from society.

The value of science lies in the pursuit of excellence and innovation. An enabling environment where researchers feel free to challenge, explore and create is essential to the growth of science. We should advocate the scientific spirit of seeking truth, respect individuality, tolerate failure and support researchers in making more original and fundamental discoveries and inventions so that innovation will become the salient feature of China's development and a strong driver of China's economic upgrading.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Global Research Council advocates excellent science and dedicates itself to extensive and deep international science cooperation and mobilizing various funding agencies to support young researchers. I believe with the efforts of the council, transnational and cross-cultural academic exchanges will bring young people more timely support which they badly need. I am also convinced that in this annual meeting, you will fully exchange ideas, build more consensus and achieve desired results. Science makes people wiser and mankind needs to explore into the unknown for a more dynamic and splendid world.

I wish all the guests from afar good health and a pleasant stay in Beijing. I wish all our friends greater success. Thank you.