Jiangsu aspires to take lead in tech innovation

Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress from Jiangsu province vowed to make solid efforts to ensure the province takes the lead in the integration of technological and industrial innovation in the country, as called for by President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, took part in a deliberation in Beijing with fellow deputies of the Jiangsu delegation at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

Zhao Jianjun, the mayor of Wuxi, Jiangsu, said he could tell from Xi's interactions with fellow deputies on Wednesday that the president knows Jiangsu's development situation very well and has very high hopes for the province, which is an economic powerhouse.

Zhao noted that it is the third consecutive year that Xi has taken part in deliberating with deputies from Jiangsu, and that Xi always points out the clear direction for the future development of Jiangsu and the country.

"He has emphasized the importance of the integration of technological and industrial innovation as well as advancing in-depth reform and high-standard opening-up. He has also made it clear ... that Jiangsu should take the lead in those areas in the country," Zhao said, adding that the development of Wuxi and Jiangsu as a whole reflects the overall high-quality development of China.

Xu Guanghui, director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology, said a detailed action plan for the province to take the lead in the integration of technological and industrial innovation will be drafted.

"We will focus on introducing strategies to make core technological breakthroughs and support applied basic research, and we will also build industrial technology innovation centers with global influence," Xu said.

During the deliberation session, Xu said the Jiangsu government's investment in technological innovation increased from 67.8 billion yuan ($9.35 billion) in 2022 to 78.8 billion yuan last year, representing a growth of 16.2 percent. Furthermore, efforts have been made to strengthen the construction of innovation platforms, with three basic science centers established at provincial level in physics, applied mathematics and synthetic biology.

Zhang Junjie, vice-president of Nanjing First Hospital in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu, is a cardiologist who has been committed to the interventional diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease, valvular heart disease and hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Zhang said that Xi's call for better integrating technological and industrial innovation has made him more determined as a doctor to diligently study advanced medical technologies and treat patients with an even higher level of medical skills.

"I will continue to build bridges for the transformation of medical science and technology achievements. I will make more medical innovations and make sure they can better benefit the people," he added.