Academician Cong Bin: Adhere to the truth and innovate to achieve more breakthroughs from "0 to 1"

In short, scientific and technological self-reliance means having independent and controllable scientific and technological innovation capabilities and core technologies, no longer relying on external input, and achieving self-development and self-transcendence. This is not only a breakthrough in technology, but also an all-round improvement in the scientific and technological system, ecology, talent training and other aspects. At present, global scientific and technological competition is becoming increasingly fierce. A breakthrough in any field may drive the transformation of the entire scientific and technological system. Being better than others is not entirely a breakthrough from "0 to 1". The real challenge is to have what others do not have.

The report of the 20th CPC National Congress pointed out that we must put the people first, be self-confident and self-reliant, adhere to the principle of keeping the right path and making innovations, be problem-oriented, have a systematic concept, and have a global vision. This is not only a profound summary of "why we were able to succeed in the past", but also an action guide for "how we can continue to succeed in the future", which also has very important guiding significance for accelerating the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance.

I believe that putting people first is the starting point and end point of scientific research. Scientific researchers should always bear in mind that the ultimate goal of scientific research is to serve the people and contribute to the prosperity of the country and the happiness and well-being of the people. Self-confidence and self-reliance are essential qualities for scientific and technological workers. Only with firm ideals and beliefs and strong spiritual will can we be self-reliant and walk our own way. Only with self-confidence can we be self-reliant. Keeping the integrity and innovating is the idea and method of scientific research. Only by adhering to the integrity and innovating can scientific and technological research and development be continuously upgraded. Problem-oriented is to see the essence through the phenomenon and find the mechanism of the problem. Caring for the world requires scientific researchers to have a global vision and international perspective. The heaven is vigorous and the gentleman is self-reliant, and the earth is gentle and the gentleman is virtuous. The system concept is an important methodology that must be followed in scientific research. When raising, analyzing and solving problems, we must adhere to the system, logic, integrity and intersection, and adhere to the view of one divides into two, the view of development and the view of universal connection to innovate and create.

So, how can we accelerate the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance? I think there are three points:

First, a complete scientific and technological system should be established. Science and technology serve output. The current scientific research system often adopts the "cake-cutting" method, dividing a major scientific research topic into several small topics and assigning them to scientific research teams across the country to compete and conduct independent research. This method seems fair, but if there is no overall planning in the top-level design, it will lead to waste of scientific research resources and fragmentation of scientific research results. Each team only does its part, and the results obtained in the end cannot be effectively integrated into the system to achieve the original scientific research goals, and cannot contribute systematic new knowledge or new technologies. Therefore, we must pay attention to integrity and synergy, ensure that the research of each part can be interconnected and support each other, and jointly promote the realization of scientific research projects.

Secondly, it is the cross-integration of multiple disciplines and the conduct of organized scientific research. At present, the era of using a single technical theory to solve major scientific problems is gone forever. As the core element of developing new quality productivity, the cross-integration of disciplines provides a new possibility for scientific and technological innovation. When building a national key laboratory or scientific research platform, it is necessary to clarify the goals in advance, design major R&D plans, and plan the required platforms, teams and knowledge systems according to the plans. Just like during the "two bombs and one satellite" period, although my country's productivity level was low at that time, a series of independent innovation results were still achieved under the cross-integration of multiple disciplines and organized scientific research plans. Therefore, to change the current state of "feudal separatism" in the field of scientific research, only by breaking down barriers and promoting exchanges and integration can we avoid "blind men touching an elephant" and move towards a new height of systematic innovation.

Third, scientific and technological workers themselves must have a sense of self-reliance and self-improvement. Scientific research should be designed and studied around the major needs of the country. This is the sense of responsibility and mission that scientific and technological workers should have. Even if some scientific research may not be able to publish articles or obtain direct economic benefits, as long as the country and the people need it, it must be done. To promote the spirit of scientists, only by writing papers on the land of the motherland can we truly solve practical problems. Of course, it is also necessary to guide and motivate at the institutional level to cultivate more scientific and technological talents with the courage to take responsibility. Scientific research will not produce results overnight. I hope that young scientific and technological workers will have certain psychological qualities, endure loneliness, study hard, and master the ability to analyze and solve problems. Innovation has never been an easy thing. When encountering difficulties, find ways in practice, follow the rugged mountain road, and climb to the peak of science.

Achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance is the fundamental requirement for building a strong country in science and technology, and mastering key core technologies is an important symbol of achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance. I believe that as long as we have firm confidence, climb to the top, and work tirelessly, we will surely achieve more brilliant achievements in the field of science and technology and make more positive contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Expert: Cong Bin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of Hebei Medical University

Interview and compilation by Guangming Online reporters Cai Lin and Zhang Mengfan