BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent speech reaffirms strong political will and policy support for developing China into a world leader in science and technology. It gained appreciation from many foreign scholars and overseas Chinese researchers.
Xi made the remarks Monday at the opening of the 19th Meeting of the Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the 14th Meeting of the Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).
Foreign CAS and CAE members said it's inspiring that Xi paid high attention to the role of their institutions in promoting technology and innovation.
"I admire very much President Xi's leadership in China's implementation of correct policies of developing science and technology, and his support for the research work of the two academies," said CAE Russian member Yuri Gulyaev.
The Chinese leadership has provided a very strong support for developing technology, with a research budget ranked among the lead in countries, he said.
Xiao-Fan Wang, a CAS American member and chair professor at the Duke University, said, "Innovation runs through President Xi's speech, and this shows his insights into technological innovation, which is at the core of competitiveness in economic transformation."
"The speech is well balanced, invigorating with regard to the achievements, while mindful of the long way ahead for China in its development of science and technology," he further commented.
Nicholas Peppas, a CAE American member and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said, "It was a visionary speech outlining how China could continue improving in engineering, science and advanced technology."
"We were impressed with his deep understanding of global issues. I believed he touched upon all aspects of international scientific cooperation," he added.
China leads in the world in several areas of science and technology and the number of Chinese technical people working at the world frontiers of research and development is increasing, said Vasily Kashin, a researcher from the Far Eastern Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
One major advantage of China in science and technology development is that its relevant policies pushed by the Chinese leadership always could be implemented, and some major research and development projects have strong support from the Chinese leadership, Kashin said.
"After listening to the speech, I deeply felt that China is indeed eager for innovation and talents," said Li Ruidong, secretary general of a Chinese scholars' organization in Japan.
As a researcher working overseas, he said that he was greatly inspired.
In recent years, the level of China's scientific research has been enhanced rapidly and the environment for scientific research is increasingly improving, offering more and more opportunities to scientific researchers overseas, said Prof. Hao Ling with Britain's National Physical Laboratory.
More and more young people will return to China in the future, Hao believed.
Zhao Yuxuan, an expert specialized in agriculture at the World Bank, said that Xi's speech indicates the roadmap to turn China into a world-class science and technology leader, firmly believing that China will sure gradually narrow its gap in science and technology with the developed countries.
Gulyaev said that China has integrated various assets for advance, like its technical people, economic growth and policy guidance, and Chinese leaders' achievements in advancing economy, science and technology are well witnessed.
