Xi stresses role of sci-tech innovation

President Xi Jinping stressed on Monday that self-reliance in science and technology is the "key" in building China into a great modern socialist country, on his first fact-finding trip of 2026, the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period.

He urged efforts to fully leverage the country's advantage of coordinating all efforts to complete key national undertakings, pool high-quality factors to tackle key challenges and accelerate efforts to address prominent areas of weaknesses to advance toward strategic goals.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks as he visited an information technology innovation park in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town.

Xi learned about IT application and innovation and was briefed on the capital city's efforts to expedite the development of an international sci-tech innovation center. He examined a display of sci-tech innovation outcomes and talked with researchers and heads of sci-tech enterprises.

According to the Global Innovation Index 2025 released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China ranked 10th globally in 2025, entering the top 10 for the first time. As the only middle-income economy in the top 30, China strengthens its position in innovation, with strong performance in research and development, artificial intelligence and high-tech exports.

China has identified substantial improvements in sci-tech self-reliance and strength as one of the major objectives for social and economic development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, according to the recommendations for formulating the plan. Ahead of Monday's visit, Xi stressed the need to focus on the main directions for developing industries of the future during the new plan period, while presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Jan 30.

Cultivating and developing industries of the future is of great significance to gaining a competitive edge in science, technology and industry, as well as to seizing the initiative in development, he said.

Xi called for leveraging the new system for nationwide resource mobilization, accelerating breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, improving forward-looking and systematic planning of basic research and speeding up the application and commercialization of sci-tech achievements.

In December, the tone-setting annual Central Economic Work Conference outlined plans to develop international technological innovation centers in Beijing (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region), Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2026.

Over the past year, Xi visited Shanghai and Guangdong province in April and November, respectively. In Shanghai, he toured a large-model incubator, urging the city to take the lead in AI development and governance while highlighting China's vast potential for the industry.

In Guangzhou, Guangdong's provincial capital, he called for the deeper integration of technological and industrial innovation to build a modernized industrial system with global competitiveness.

Kong Lei, secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, said he briefed Xi on the development of the embodied AI industry in Beijing. "He showed great interest in the progress of humanoid robots and paid close attention to the technical details," Kong said. "His encouragement has further strengthened our confidence."

Lei Jun, chairman and CEO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi Corp, who was among the representatives present on Monday, said Xi's decision to make sci-tech innovation the focus of his first domestic fact-finding trip of the new plan period sends a clear signal that China will accelerate efforts to foster new quality productive forces driven by innovation.

"The visit has strengthened our resolve, and this encouragement will translate into concrete innovation and solid work across the technology community," Lei said.

Contact the writers at mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn