Wang Yusheng, former head of the China Science and Technology Museum and a current professor at the China Academy of Sciences, met members of the Zhongguancun Regulatory Committee and discussed "Technology Innovation Promotes Social Progress".

Professor Wang spoke about the origins and development of science and asked several scientific questions, including one relating to the meaning of quark, an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter.

Professor Wang also answered a question concerning innovative countries, saying that such countries share several characteristics, such as: the revenue generated by innovation is high, the R&D input of such countries accounts for 2 percent of the country’s GDP, and the independent innovation ability is high and thus the dependence on foreign countries is below 30 percent.

He also said that the 20 countries which are considered to be the world’s most innovative boast 99% of the world’s patents.

Professor Wang added that three Asian countries are seen as innovative countries: Singapore, Japan and South Korea, and that China cannot yet be called an innovative country.

He said that the Chinese innovation model is a mix of the following three patterns: original innovation, integrated innovation, and re-innovation.

China has a goal to build a moderately prosperous society by 2020, and those involved in scientific research and business also aim to speed up innovation and build China into a real innovative country by then.

Edited by Niva Whyman