Strengthening basic research is an urgent requirement for achieving high-level technological self-reliance and self-improvement, and is the only way to build a world science and technology powerhouse. The Party and the state have always attached great importance to basic research work. After the founding of New China, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a call to "march towards science". The vast number of scientific and technological workers worked hard and independently, and achieved major basic research results such as the key scientific issues of "two bombs and one star", artificial synthetic bovine insulin, breakthroughs in multiple complex variable function theory, and proof of Goldbach's conjecture. After the reform and opening up, China ushered in the "spring of science", and successively implemented the "863 Program", "Climbing Plan", and "Program 973", which significantly enhanced the overall research strength and academic level of basic research. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has placed a more prominent position in enhancing original innovation capabilities, successfully organizing a batch of major basic research tasks, and building a batch of major technological infrastructure. Major original achievements in the forefront of basic research continue to emerge.

At present, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening, interdisciplinary integration is constantly advancing, scientific research paradigms are undergoing profound changes, science and technology and economic and social development are accelerating the infiltration and integration, basic research transformation cycle is significantly shortened, and international scientific and technological competition is moving towards the front edge of the foundation. To cope with international scientific and technological competition, achieve self-reliance in high-level science and technology, promote the construction of a Dual circulation, and achieve high-quality development, it is urgent for us to strengthen basic research and solve key technical problems from the source and bottom. Because of this, the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China highlights the need to strengthen basic research, highlight originality, encourage free exploration, make strategic arrangements, and effectively implement them.

Firstly, strengthen the forward-looking, strategic, and systematic layout of basic research. Basic research is at the beginning of the scientific research chain from research to application, and then to production. Only with a solid foundation can the science and technology industry building be built high. Strengthening basic research should highlight forward-looking and strategic demand orientation, optimize resource allocation and layout structure, and provide basic theoretical support and technological source supply for innovative development.

We should adhere to the "four orientations", adhere to the goal orientation and free exploration, "walk on two legs", combine the world's scientific and technological frontier with the country's major strategic needs and economic and social development goals, coordinate and follow the frontier issues raised by scientific development laws and theoretical issues abstracted from major applied research, and refine key scientific issues in basic research. We need to grasp the trend of technological development and national strategic needs, strengthen the feasibility study and selection evaluation of major basic research projects, fully respect the opinions of scientists, grasp the overall trend, and make a good "first mover" move. It is necessary to strengthen the national strategic scientific and technological strength, promote the strategic oriented systematic basic research, the frontier oriented exploratory basic research, and the market-oriented applied basic research in an organized way, and pay attention to the leading role of the national laboratory, the organizational role of the national scientific research institutions, the main force of high-level Research university, and the role of science and technology leading enterprises as "question setters", "question respondents", and "paper readers". We should optimize the layout of basic disciplines, support the development of key disciplines, emerging disciplines, obscure disciplines and weak disciplines, promote interdisciplinary integration and Transdisciplinarity, and build a high-quality discipline system with comprehensive and balanced development.

Thirdly, build a high-level support platform for basic research. For a long time in the past, there was a problem in basic research in China where problems were found in foreign academic journals, instruments and equipment were imported from abroad, and results were obtained before being spent on foreign journals and platforms for publication. In recent years, China has made significant progress in building world-class scientific and technological journals, building a number of major power tools, and building basic research support platforms. However, there is still a long way to go to fundamentally solve the problem of "two sides outside".

We should coordinate to build a national laboratory system with Chinese characteristics, lay out and build research centers for basic disciplines, speed up the construction of special basic research zones, deploy a new basic platform for scientific research informatization in advance, and form a strong backbone network for basic research. We need to scientifically plan and layout major scientific and technological infrastructure that is forward-looking, strategic, and application supported, strengthen supervision during and after facility construction, improve full lifecycle management, and comprehensively improve the level of openness and sharing and operational efficiency. We need to fight the battle for the localization of scientific and technological instruments, operating systems, and basic software, encourage research institutions, universities, and enterprises to carry out joint research, improve the level of localization substitution and application scale, and strive to achieve the early use of China's independent research platforms and instruments to solve major basic research problems. We need to accelerate the cultivation of world-class scientific and technological journals, build internationally influential scientific and technological literature and data platforms, initiate high-level international academic conferences, and encourage the publication, development, and utilization of major basic research achievements in Chinese journals and platforms

Fourthly, strengthen the construction of basic research talent teams. Strengthening basic research ultimately relies on high-level talents. In recent years, China has deeply implemented the strategy of strengthening the country through talent development, deepened the reform of the talent system and mechanism, and achieved significant results. However, there are still significant shortcomings in the basic research talent team. We must make efforts to build a systematic and high-level platform for cultivating basic research talents, so that more basic research talents can emerge in competition.

We need to increase the support for basic research talents through various talent programs, cultivate and utilize strategic scientists, support young scientific and technological talents to take on major responsibilities, actively introduce outstanding overseas talents, and continuously strengthen the leading scientific and technological talent team and first-class innovation team. It is necessary to clarify the evaluation methods and standards of how to "establish" after "breaking the four rationalities", improve the differential evaluation and long-term support mechanism for basic research talents, give science and technology leading talents greater control over human resources and property and the choice of Technology roadmap, and build an evaluation system that conforms to the laws of basic research and talent growth. We need to strengthen the construction of scientific research and academic style, adhere to the combination of scientific supervision and integrity education, deeply promote the governance of scientific research and academic style, guide scientific and technological personnel to abandon exaggeration, dispel impatience, and sit firmly on the "cold bench". We must adhere to the path of independent cultivation of basic research talents, deeply implement the "High School Student Talent Plan", "Strong Foundation Plan", and "Top notch Basic Subject Student Training Plan", optimize the basic subject education system, give full play to the role of universities, especially the "Double First Class" universities, as the main force for cultivating basic research talents, strengthen the urgently needed high-level talent cultivation of the country, and continuously cultivate a large-scale reserve force for basic research。

Fifth, extensive international cooperation in basic research should be carried out. At present, international scientific and technological cooperation faces the impact and challenge of Unilateralism and protectionism of a few countries. To solve the challenges of common development, humanity needs international cooperation and open sharing more than ever before. No country can become an independent innovation center or enjoy the fruits of innovation alone. China should adhere to expanding international exchanges and cooperation in basic research with more open thinking and measures, and create an open innovation ecosystem with global competitiveness.

We need to build an international platform for basic research cooperation, take the lead in implementing the international big science plan and big science engineering, establish a global scientific research fund, increase the openness of national science and technology plans to the outside world, and expand and deepen joint research between China and foreign countries around global issues such as climate change, energy security, biosafety, and outer space utilization. We need to proactively plan and deeply participate in global science and technology governance, participate in or initiate the establishment of international science and technology organizations, support domestic universities, research institutes, and technology organizations to connect with the international community, and improve laws and regulations, ethical review rules, and regulatory frameworks. We must be brave and adept at struggle, strive to enhance the openness, trust, and cooperation of the international scientific and technological community, make new and greater contributions to the progress of human civilization with more major original innovations and breakthroughs in key core technologies, and effectively safeguard China's scientific and technological security interests.

Sixth, shape an innovative ecosystem that is conducive to basic research. Conducting basic research requires both material guarantee and spiritual motivation. Several generations of scientific and technological workers in China have jointly shaped the innovative ecology with Chinese characteristics and become an inexhaustible driving force supporting the development of basic research through the continuous struggle of the "two bombs and one satellite" spirit, the spirit of moving to the west, the spirit of Human spaceflight, the spirit of scientists, the spirit of exploring the moon, and the spirit of the new era Beidou.

We should vigorously promote the scientific spirit of pursuing truth and daring to climb new heights throughout society, widely promote advanced models and deeds emerging in basic research and other scientific and technological fields, educate and guide scientific and technological workers to inherit the glorious tradition of the older generation of scientists dedicating themselves to the country and caring for the people, write papers on the land of our country, and apply scientific research achievements to the great cause of building a socialist modernized country in all respects. We need to strengthen the construction of national science popularization capacity, deeply implement the action of improving the scientific literacy of the whole people, disseminate scientific knowledge and showcase scientific achievements through multiple channels, both online and offline, and establish a social trend of loving and advocating science. To effectively promote the integration of science and education, we should do a good job in adding scientific education in the "double reduction" of education, sow the seeds of science, stimulate the curiosity, imagination, and exploration of young people, and cultivate a group of young people with the potential of scientists who are willing to devote themselves to scientific research.

Party committees and governments at all levels should include strengthening basic research in the important agenda of scientific and technological work, strengthen overall coordination, increase policy support, and promote high-quality development of basic research. Leaders and cadres at all levels should learn scientific and technological knowledge, carry forward the spirit of science, take the initiative to help scientific and technological workers solve problems, loosen ties, reduce burdens, and cheer, and implement a series of strategic deployments of the Party Central Committee on scientific and technological innovation.

Source: Qiushi 2023/15