China to focus on making the country innovative

China has vowed to speed up its pace in making the country more innovative. Minister of Science and Technology, Wang Zhigang, addressed a press conference and took questions on the sidelines of the annual legislative session in Beijing.

Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology, answers questions during a press conference on the supervision work of the NPC for the second session of the 13th NPC in Beijing, March 11, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua]

Wang said China still has a couple of issues need to be addressed before stepping into the rank of innovative countries by the end of 2020 as planned. For example, China's basic research investment has been hovering at 5% for a long time.

Wang said however that the country has managed to gain good momentum over the years. He said many enterprises in China, especially those high-technology enterprises, have begun to focus on basic research. And the proportion of basic research investment has been improving.

A perception machine responds to a visitor at the venue of the 2018 Summer Davos Forum in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Monday, September 17, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

The Minister also said China will rely more on scientific and technical personnel, and he promised that the Ministry of Science and Technology will provide technical support, a conducive research environment, and guarantee for scientists to clear up barriers for them.