Zhang Xiaofeng and Qiao Xuezhu: Technological Innovation and Science Popularization Are the Two Wings for Achieving Innovative Development
When science and technology flourish, the nation flourishes; when science and technology are strong, the state is strong. Building our country into a scientific and technological power has been a dream assiduously pursued by the Chinese nation since the dawn of modern history, a goal for which generations of China’s sons and daughters have exhausted their minds and spirits in tireless struggle. The major strategic deployment made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core to build a scientific and technological power by 2035 is based on a grasp of global trends, rooted in the present, and focused on the long term. Building such a power requires not only continuous breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation but also the sustained application of efforts in science popularization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that "scientific and technological innovation and science popularization are the two wings for achieving innovative development, and science popularization should be placed in a position of equal importance to scientific and technological innovation." At the Lenghu Astronomical Observation Base in Qinghai, engineers calibrate the world-leading Mozi Sky Survey Telescope; thousands of miles away in the Beijing Planetarium, children use VR equipment to view the dreamlike and magnificent rings of Saturn. These two seemingly unrelated scenes together outline the vista of contemporary Chinese scientific development—innovation expands the boundaries of human cognition, while science popularization consolidates the social foundation of scientific development. Like a bird spreading its wings, they lift the Chinese nation’s great dream of becoming a scientific and technological power.
1. The Mutual Pursuit of Technological Revolution and Civilizational Leap
Throughout the history of human civilization and world science, every major technological revolution has been accompanied by a wave of science popularization. The Renaissance promoted the development of science; the concept that "knowledge is power" accelerated scientific progress; the Enlightenment created an atmosphere of longing for science; and major scientific theories such as relativity and quantum mechanics deepened and expanded people's understanding of the world. These historical experiences demonstrate that while innovation expands the boundaries of cognition, science popularization builds social consensus; together, they constitute the ladder of civilizational progress. Chinese history likewise confirms this law. Technologies for vehicle construction, weaponry, ritual vessels, and architecture gave rise to craft classics such as the Kaogong ji [1], and the popularization of printing promoted the development of academy culture.
Making science and technology serve the well-being of the people has been a consistent position of the Communist Party of China. During the Yan'an period, the founding of the Yan'an Academy of Natural Sciences and the launch of the "Science Popularization" movement closely integrated innovation with popularization. A culture of speaking, loving, learning, and using science swept through the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and other revolutionary base areas, laying the ideological and technical foundation for the victory of the revolution. In 1942, in his "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art," Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "Our raising of standards is based on popularization, while our popularization is guided by the raising of standards." After the founding of New China, the Party Central Committee issued the call to "march toward science," implemented the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" [2] project, and published the 100,000 Whys series. This both achieved great success in the field of cutting-edge technology and created a "scientific cornerstone for the Republic’s tomorrow." After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, under the guidance of the important idea that "science and technology are the primary productive forces," our country’s scientific endeavors saw major development. At the closing ceremony of the 1978 National Science Conference, Guo Moruo, then President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated in his speech: "The most brilliant springtime for science in our nation's history has arrived." Since then, earth-shaking changes have taken place in China's scientific and educational circles.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to science popularization. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted that "science popularization is an important foundational task for achieving innovative development," and that "without a universal improvement in the scientific literacy of the whole people, it will be difficult to build a vast army of high-quality innovators or to achieve the rapid transformation of scientific and technological achievements." These important expositions clarify the position of science popularization, profoundly reveal the inherent laws of scientific development, and point the direction for our country to achieve high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology and to accelerate innovative development. On December 25, 2024, the 13th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress passed the newly revised Law of the People's Republic of China on the Popularization of Science and Technology. This is the first revision since the law was promulgated and implemented in 2002, marking a new stage in our country's science popularization work. From the grand narrative of world scientific history to the practical exploration of Chinese-path modernization, scientific innovation and science popularization are like the two wings of a bird or the two wheels of a cart, jointly pushing human civilization toward a higher level.
2. The Imperative of Coordinated Development Between Innovation and Popularization
Against the contemporary backdrop of the accelerated advancement of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, scientific topics have become a focus of global attention, technological competition is intensifying, and the coordinated development of innovation and popularization has become imperative. Scientific innovation is the core engine of high-quality development; high-tech fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing have become the forefront and main battlefield of international competition. Currently, "bottleneck" [3] problems remain in China's cutting-edge fields, and some key core technologies are still subject to the control of others. To break this impasse, we must rely on innovation to "reach the sky," breaking through bottleneck technologies and stimulating the internal drive of innovation to focus on the frontiers of science; we must firmly grasp the lifeblood of technology in our own hands. Yet we must also rely on popularization to "stand on the ground," giving play to its role as a cornerstone in disseminating ideas that source innovative development and assisting in the transformation of achievements, thereby enriching the soil for innovation.
However, it is worth noting that the long-standing trend of emphasizing research while neglecting popularization still exists; the reality of "strong research, weak popularization" urgently needs to be reversed. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2023, the total national investment in Research and Development (R&D) was 3,335.71 billion yuan, while the funds raised for science popularization work nationwide in 2023 were 21.506 billion yuan, reflecting a huge gap in investment. In 2024, the proportion of Chinese citizens possessing scientific literacy reached 15.37%, which still lags behind developed countries. Without a universal improvement in the scientific literacy of the whole people, it is difficult to form the fertile soil for innovation. Therefore, we must bridge the "digital divide" in cognition and break down the socio-cultural barriers hindering scientific innovation.
By improving public scientific literacy, science popularization not only cultivates a social consensus for innovation but also stimulates the curiosity of the youth and trains a reserve army of innovators, injecting "source water" into scientific innovation. To this end, we must construct a resource allocation model of "joint planning, joint promotion, and joint deployment." While vigorously developing scientific innovation, we must quickly fix the "short board" [4] of popularization, exerting all our strength to make the "wing" of science popularization larger and stronger. We must allow the scientific spirit to melt into the nation’s lifeblood, assisting the other wing of innovation to create a vivid situation where "everyone admires innovation and everyone can innovate."
Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has mapped out a new pattern for the coordinated development of innovation and popularization. From the "Three Science Conferences" [5]—which placed popularization on equal footing with innovation—to the Outline of the Action Plan for the Scientific Literacy of the Whole People (2021–2035), which sets the goal of 25% of citizens possessing scientific literacy by 2035; from "state essentials" [6] like the FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope), the High Energy Photon Source, and the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory being opened to the public, to the "Tiangong Classroom" igniting the aerospace dreams of millions of students; from sci-fi literature like The Wandering Earth and The Three-Body Problem sparking a scientific craze, to departments like the National Health Commission cracking down on pseudo-science and false medical knowledge—the scientific literacy of the whole people is constantly improving. The deep integration of innovation and popularization is breaking through the transformation bottleneck between the "key variable" and the "maximum increment," injecting surging momentum into high-quality development.
3. Advancing the Formation of a "Grand Science Popularization" Pattern
Science popularization is a common cause for the whole of society. We must, from the height of constructing a new development pattern, use the concept of "Grand Science Popularization" to promote the improvement of national scientific literacy, the optimization of the scientific innovation ecosystem, and the conversion of momentum for high-quality development. We must foster a rational, civilized, and harmonious social atmosphere to inject developmental power into Chinese-path modernization.
Take the "first move" [7] in institutional and cyclical innovation. The core of the strategic layout for science popularization in the New Era lies in breaking the singular and fragmented mode of traditional popularization. The Outline of the Action Plan for the Scientific Literacy of the Whole People (2021–2035) clearly proposes the principle of "persisting in coordinated advancement." Governments at all levels must strengthen organizational leadership, policy support, and investment guarantees to stimulate the vitality of diverse subjects—including universities, research institutes, enterprises, primary-level organizations, scientific communities, and social groups. We must stimulate the enthusiasm of the whole people to participate and build a socialized "Grand Science Popularization" pattern coordinated by the government, society, and the market. This promotion model of "vertical integration and horizontal linkage" allows science popularization resources to move from dispersion toward concentration, and from one-way output toward multi-party interaction, building an institutional foundation for the improvement of national scientific literacy.
Play the "combination punch" [8] of "Pop-Science Plus." The practical value of the popularization strategy is prominently reflected in the increased efficiency of transforming scientific innovation results into people's well-being. Through the multidimensional integration of the education, industry, and talent chains, we should use systemic thinking to construct an all-encompassing popularization ecosystem, allowing the scientific spirit to take root in the fertile soil of practice. Fusion models such as "Pop-Science + Industry," "Pop-Science + Education," and "Pop-Science + Culture" not only make innovation perceivable and tangible but also cultivate deep social soil for high-quality development. Driven by national strategic scientific and technological forces, we should build a batch of demonstration bases for the integration of "science, education, research, and production." We should implement excellent pop-science projects and support the publication of a batch of high-quality science fiction works.
Draw the "concentric circles" [9] of universal participation. The main task of science popularization is to improve the scientific literacy of the nation and stimulate the innovative wisdom of the people. Therefore, it must reach the public through all channels and directions, making scientific knowledge and the scientific spirit "at one’s fingertips." Scientists should be organized to open "Grand Science Lecture Halls" in public places; "Observe State Essentials and Learn Science" experiences should be held in museums, science centers, and libraries; "Science Popularization on Campus" should be carried out in primary and secondary schools; "Science and Technology Volunteer Service Stations" should be established in communities; and "Agricultural Science Popularization" should be implemented in villages, bringing "5G Cloud Classrooms" to the fields. Through activities such as "National Science Popularization Month," we can expand the audience, improve the public’s lifelong learning ability, and continuously enrich the people’s spiritual world to serve the well-round development of the individual. We must support original pop-science works, vigorously develop various forms such as animation, short videos, and games, and support tech companies in developing pop-science products, allowing frontier technology to feed back into knowledge dissemination and prosper the pop-science creative industry.
Looking back at the journey of over a hundred years—from the enlightenment of "Mr. Science" [10] to the "Springtime of Science," from "science and technology are the primary productive forces" to the innovation-driven development strategy—Chinese Communists have always grasped the pulse of the times in scientific development. Standing at the historical convergence of the "Two Centenary Goals," the strategic layout of science popularization is both a foundational project for building a scientific and technological power and an important measure for the complete, accurate, and comprehensive implementation of the new development philosophy. Only by persisting in the "one body, two wings" and "twin-wheel drive" of innovation and popularization can we seize the commanding heights in the global wave of technological revolution, let the light of science illuminate the road to national rejuvenation, and write a scientific chapter of the New Era in the magnificent practice of achieving Chinese-path modernization.