`The Sky Is the Limit for China’s National Strategy’ in Five-Year Plan

That is the way Xinhua characterizes the draft of the 13th Five Year Plan which has been presented for review to the National People’s Congress. For the first time, scientists note, the plan for China’s economic growth recognizes the scientific foundation of innovation. And China plans to be on the frontier.

“For thousands of years, thinkers have grappled to understand the origins of the universe. Now, this question has been included, alongside more terrestrial topics such as agriculture, in China’s new economic and social development plan,” the article summarizes.

The article quotes Chinese writer Han Song, “…like the ancient philosophers Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu more than 2,000 years ago, modern thinkers are deliberating the ultimate question of existence. Fundamental questions, like this, have the power to influence solutions to some of the most prominent problems faced by society, and the world at large.”

Zhang Xinmin, from the Institute of High Energy Physics, who is also involved in research into gravitational waves in the Ali program in Tibet, said that without research, innovation on a large scale is unachievable. Similarly, Wu Ji, Director of China’s Space Science Center, who has been outlining China’s space science exploration plans over the past week, stated, “If you want to innovate, you must have knowledge of the sciences. Space science is inseparable from China’s innovation-driven development,” which, as reported, is a focus of the next five-year plan.

According to Wu, a 15-year space science strategy has been mapped out by the Center, which will tackle questions such as the formation and evolution of the universe; extraterrestrial intelligence; extra-solar planets, and other questions. “If China wants to be a strong global nation,” Wu advised, “it should not only care about immediate interests, but also contribute to humankind. Only that can win China the real respect of the world.”