Scientific and 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 nation is strong. Building China into a scientific and technological power has been a dream earnestly pursued by the Chinese nation since modern times, for which generations of Chinese sons and daughters have racked their brains and made unremitting efforts. Building a scientific and technological power by 2035 is a major strategic plan made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, grasping the trends of the world, based on the present, and with a long-term perspective. Building a scientific and technological power requires not only continuous breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation, but also sustained efforts in science popularization. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “Scientific and technological innovation and science popularization are the two wings for achieving innovative development; science popularization must be placed in a position equal to that of scientific and technological innovation.” [1]1 Xi Jinping, speech at the Conference on Science and Technology, the Conference on the Two Academies of Sciences, and the Ninth National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology, May 2016. At the Lenghu Astronomical Observation Base in Qinghai, engineers are debugging the world-leading Mozi Wide-field Survey Telescope equipment; thousands of miles away at the Beijing Planetarium, children are enjoying the magnificent and dreamlike rings of Saturn through VR devices. These two seemingly unrelated scenes together outline the picture of contemporary China’s scientific and technological development—scientific and technological innovation expands the boundaries of human cognition, while science popularization consolidates the social foundation of scientific and technological development, just like a bird flapping its wings, lifting the great dream of China’s scientific and technological power.

科技兴则民族兴，科技强则国家强。把我国建设成为科技强国是近代以来中华民族孜孜以求的梦想，一代又一代中华儿女为之殚精竭虑、不懈奋斗。到2035年建成科技强国是以习近平同志为核心的党中央把握世界大势、立足当前、着眼长远作出的重大战略部署。建成科技强国不仅需要科技创新的不断突破，更需要科学普及的持续发力。习近平总书记强调，“科技创新、科学普及是实现创新发展的两翼，要把科学普及放在与科技创新同等重要的位置”。在青海冷湖天文观测基地，工程师调试着世界领先的墨子巡天望远镜设备；千里之外的北京天文馆里，孩子们正通过VR设备观赏梦幻壮丽的土星光环。这两个看似无关的场景，共同勾勒出当代中国科技发展的图景——科技创新拓展人类的认知边界，科学普及夯实科技发展的社会根基，恰似飞鸟振翅，托举着中华民族科技强国的伟大梦想。

1. The Two-Way Convergence of Technological Revolution and Civilizational Leap

1.科技革命与文明跃升的双向奔赴

Throughout the history of human civilization and world science and technology, every major technological revolution has been accompanied by a wave of science popularization. The Renaissance movement promoted scientific development; the concept “knowledge is power” accelerated scientific progress; the Enlightenment created an atmosphere of yearning for science; major scientific theories such as relativity and quantum mechanics deepened and expanded people’s understanding of the world… These historical experiences show that scientific and technological innovation expands the boundaries of cognition, while science popularization builds social consensus; the two together constitute the ladder of civilizational progress. Chinese history also confirms this law. Technologies such as chariot-making, weapons, ritual vessels, and architecture gave rise to craft classics like the *Kaogong Ji* (The Artificers’ Record), and the popularization of printing promoted the development of academy culture.

纵观人类文明史和世界科技史，每一次重大科技革命都伴随着科学普及的浪潮。文艺复兴运动促进了科学发展，“知识就是力量”的理念加速了科学进步，启蒙运动营造了向往科学的氛围，相对论、量子力学等重大科学理论深化拓展了人们对世界的认识……这些历史经验表明，科技创新拓展了认知边界，科学普及则构建社会共识，二者共同构成文明进步的阶梯。中国历史同样印证了这一规律。制车、兵器、礼器、建筑等技术催生了《考工记》等工艺典籍，印刷术的普及促进了书院文化的发展。

Letting science and technology benefit the people is a consistent stance of the Communist Party of China. During the Yan’an period, the Yan’an Academy of Natural Sciences was established and a “science popularization” movement was launched, closely combining scientific and technological innovation with science popularization. A trend of speaking about science, loving science, learning science, 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 elevation is elevation on the basis of popularization; our popularization is popularization under the guidance of elevation.” [2]2 Mao Zedong, “Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art,” May 1942. After the founding of New China, the Party Central Committee issued the call to “march toward science,” implemented the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” project, and published the *One Hundred Thousand Whys* series of books, achieving great successes in cutting-edge science and technology while also creating “a scientific cornerstone for the Republic’s tomorrow.” After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, under the guidance of the important thought that “science and technology are the primary productive forces,” China’s scientific enterprise achieved significant 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 spring of science in our nation’s history has arrived.” [3]3 Guo Moruo, “The Spring of Science,” speech at the closing ceremony of the National Science Conference, March 1978. From then on, China’s scientific and educational circles underwent earth-shaking changes.

让科技为人民造福是中国共产党一以贯之的立场。延安时期创办延安自然科学院、开展“科学大众化”运动，将科技创新与科学普及紧密结合，讲科学、爱科学、学科学、用科学之风席卷陕甘宁边区和其他革命根据地，为革命胜利奠定了思想与技术基础。1942年，在《在延安文艺座谈会上的讲话》中，毛泽东同志指出，“我们的提高，是在普及基础上的提高；我们的普及，是在提高指导下的普及”。新中国成立后，党中央发出“向科学进军”的号召，实施“两弹一星”工程，出版《十万个为什么》丛书，既在尖端科技领域取得伟大成就，又打造出“共和国明天的一块科学基石”。党的十一届三中全会后，在“科学技术是第一生产力”这一重要思想的指导下，我国科学事业有了重大发展。在1978年全国科学大会闭幕式上，时任中国科学院院长郭沫若在讲话中提出：“我们民族历史上最灿烂的科学的春天到来了。”从此，中国的科技界和教育界发生了翻天覆地的变化。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to science popularization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Science popularization is an important foundational work for achieving innovative development,” and “Without a general improvement in the scientific literacy of the whole people, it will be difficult to build a large, high-quality innovation army, and difficult to achieve the rapid transformation of scientific and technological achievements.” [4]4 Xi Jinping, speech at the Conference on Science and Technology, the Conference on the Two Academies of Sciences, and the Ninth National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology, May 2016. These important expositions clarified the positioning of science popularization, profoundly revealed the inherent laws of the development of science and technology, and pointed the direction for China to achieve high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology and 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 of the Law on the Popularization of Science and Technology since its promulgation and implementation in 2002, marking a new stage in China’s science popularization work. From the grand narrative of world history of science and technology to the practical exploration of Chinese-path modernization, scientific and technological innovation and science popularization are like the two wings of a bird and the two wheels of a cart, jointly driving human civilization to a higher level of transition.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视科学普及。习近平总书记指出，“科学普及是实现创新发展的重要基础性工作”，“没有全民科学素质普遍提高，就难以建立起宏大的高素质创新大军，难以实现科技成果快速转化”。这些重要论述明确了科学普及的定位，深刻揭示了科技事业发展的内在规律，为我国实现高水平科技自立自强、加快创新发展指明了方向。2024年12月25日，十四届全国人大常委会第十三次会议通过了新修订的《中华人民共和国科学技术普及法》，这是科学技术普及法自2002年公布施行以来的首次修订，标志着我国科学普及工作进入新阶段。从世界科技史的宏大叙事到中国式现代化的实践探索，科技创新与科学普及如同鸟之双翼、车之双轮，共同推动人类文明向更高层次跃迁。

2. The Coordinated Development of Scientific and Technological Innovation and Science Popularization Is Imperative

2.科技创新与科学普及协同发展势在必行

Against the backdrop of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerating, science and technology topics have become global hotspots, technological competition is intensifying, and the coordinated development of scientific and technological innovation and science popularization is imperative. Scientific and technological 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” problems persist in China’s cutting-edge fields, and some key core technologies are still controlled by others. To solve this dilemma, it is necessary to rely on scientific and technological innovation to “reach for the sky,” breaking through “bottleneck” technologies, stimulating the internal driving force of scientific and technological innovation to focus on the frontiers of science and continuously innovate, and firmly grasp the lifeline of science and technology in our own hands. It is also necessary to rely on science popularization to “stand on the ground,” leveraging the foundational role of science popularization in disseminating ideas for originating innovative development and promoting the transformation of achievements, thereby cultivating a fertile ground for innovation.

在新一轮科技革命和产业变革加速推进的时代背景下，科技话题成为全球关注热点，科技博弈日益加剧，科技创新与科学普及协同发展势在必行。科技创新是高质量发展的核心引擎，人工智能、量子计算等高新技术领域已成为国际竞争最前沿和主战场。当前，我国尖端领域“卡脖子”问题犹存，一些关键核心技术仍受制于人。破解这一困局，既要靠科技创新“顶天”，突破“卡脖子”技术，激发科技创新聚焦科技前沿、不断创新发展的内驱动力，把科技命脉牢牢掌握在自己手中；也要靠科学普及“立地”，发挥科学普及在策源创新发展中的理念传播、助推成果转化的基石作用，厚植创新土壤。

However, it is noteworthy that the long-standing tendency to emphasize scientific research over science popularization still exists, and the reality of strong research but weak popularization urgently needs to be reversed. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2023, the total national expenditure on Research and Experimental Development (R&D) was 3,335.71 billion yuan, while the total national funding raised for science popularization work in 2023 was 21.506 billion yuan, reflecting a huge gap in investment between scientific and technological innovation and science popularization. In 2024, the proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy reached 15.37%, still lagging behind developed countries. Without a general improvement in the scientific literacy of the whole people, it is difficult to form a fertile soil for scientific and technological innovation. Therefore, it is necessary to bridge the “digital divide” at the cognitive level and break down the socio-cultural barriers that hinder scientific and technological innovation.

然而值得关注的是，长期以来形成的重科研、轻科普之风依然存在，科研强科普弱的现实亟待扭转。国家统计局数据显示，2023年全国共投入研究与试验发展（R&D）经费33357.1亿元，而2023年全国科普工作经费筹集额为215.06亿元，反映出科技创新与科学普及之间投入的巨大差距。2024年我国公民具备科学素质的比例达到15.37%，较发达国家仍有一定差距。没有全民科学素质的普遍提升，就难以形成科技创新的丰沃土壤，因此必须弥合认知层面的“数字鸿沟”，打破阻碍科技创新的社会文化屏障。

By improving public scientific literacy, science popularization can not only cultivate social consensus for scientific and technological innovation, but also stimulate the curiosity of young people, cultivate a reserve force for innovation, and inject a constant source of vitality into scientific and technological innovation. To this end, it is necessary to build a resource allocation model that plans, promotes, and deploys simultaneously. While vigorously developing scientific and technological innovation, we must quickly make up for the shortcomings in science popularization, spare no effort to strengthen and expand this “wing” of science popularization, allow the scientific spirit to integrate into the national bloodline, and assist the other “wing” of scientific and technological innovation, forming a vivid situation where “everyone advocates innovation, everyone can innovate,” and promoting the common progress and development of scientific and technological innovation and science popularization.

科学普及通过提升公众科学素养，不仅能培育科技创新的社会共识，更能激发青少年好奇心、培养创新后备军，为科技创新注入源头活水。为此，必须构建同谋划、同推进、同部署的资源配置模式，在大力发展科技创新的同时，尽快补齐科普短板，铆足力气做大做强科学普及这一“翼”，让科学精神融入民族血脉，助力科技创新另一“翼”，形成“人人崇尚创新、人人皆可创新”的生动局面，推动科技创新与科学普及共同进步发展。

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 scientific and technological innovation and science popularization. From the “Three Science and Technology Conferences” placing science popularization in a position equal to scientific and technological innovation, to the *Outline of the National Action Plan for Scientific Literacy (2021–2035)* setting the target of 25% of Chinese citizens possessing scientific literacy by 2035; from national heavyweights like the “China Sky Eye” (FAST), the High Energy Photon Source, and the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) being opened to the public, and the “Tiangong Classroom” igniting the space dreams of millions of students, to science fiction literature like *The Wandering Earth* and *The Three-Body Problem* sparking a science craze, and the National Health Commission and other departments clearly targeting pseudo-science popularization and false medical knowledge—the scientific literacy of the whole people is continuously improving… The deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and science popularization is breaking through the transformation bottleneck between “key variables” and “maximum increments,” injecting surging momentum into high-quality development.

新时代以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央擘画科技创新与科学普及协同发展的新格局。从“科技三会”将科学普及放在与科技创新同等重要的位置，到《全民科学素质行动规划纲要（2021—2035年）》锚定2035年我国公民具备科学素质的比例达到25%的目标；从“中国天眼”、高能同步辐射光源、高海拔宇宙线观测站等“国之重器”陆续面向公众开放，“天宫课堂”点燃千万学子的航天梦想，到《流浪地球》《三体》等科幻文学掀起科学热潮，国家卫生健康委等部门明确打击伪科普和虚假医疗知识，全民科学素质不断提升……科技创新与科学普及的深度融合正在突破“关键变量”与“最大增量”的转化瓶颈，为高质量发展注入澎湃动能。

3. Promoting the Formation of a Grand Science Popularization Pattern

3.推进形成大科普格局

Science popularization is a common cause for the whole society. From the perspective of building a new development pattern, we must use the concept of “grand science popularization” to promote the improvement of the scientific literacy of the whole people, the optimization of the scientific and technological innovation ecosystem, and the transformation of the driving force for high-quality development, creating a social atmosphere of scientific rationality, civility, and harmony, and injecting development momentum into Chinese-path modernization.

科学普及是全社会共同的事业。要从构建新发展格局的高度，以“大科普”理念推动全民科学素质提升、科技创新生态优化和高质量发展动能转换，营造科学理性、文明和谐的社会氛围，为中国式现代化注入发展动力。

Play the “initiative move” of institutional and mechanism innovation. The core of the strategic layout for science popularization in the New Era lies in breaking the traditional singular and fragmented model of science popularization. The State Council issued the *Outline of the National Action Plan for Scientific Literacy (2021–2035)*, which explicitly proposes the principle of “coordinated advancement.” Governments at all levels strengthen organizational leadership, policy support, and investment guarantees, stimulate the vitality of diverse entities such as universities, research institutes, enterprises, grassroots organizations, scientific communities, and social groups, and encourage the enthusiasm of the entire population for participation, thereby constructing a large-scale socialized science popularization pattern with coordinated advancement by the government, society, and the market. This advancement model of “vertical integration and horizontal linkage” shifts science popularization resources from dispersion to concentration, from one-way output to multi-directional interaction, laying a solid institutional foundation for enhancing the scientific literacy of the entire population.

下好体制机制创新“先手棋”。新时代科普战略布局的核心在于打破传统科普的单一化、碎片化模式。国务院印发《全民科学素质行动规划纲要（2021—2035年）》明确提出“坚持协同推进”原则，各级政府强化组织领导、政策支持、投入保障，激发高校、科研院所、企业、基层组织、科学共同体、社会团体等多元主体活力，激发全民参与积极性，构建政府、社会、市场等协同推进的社会化科普大格局。这种“纵向贯通、横向联动”的推进模式，使科普资源从分散走向集约，从单向输出转向多元互动，为全民科学素质提升筑牢制度根基。

Deploy the “combined punch” of “science popularization +.” The practical value of the science popularization strategy is prominently reflected in the enhanced efficiency of transforming scientific and technological innovation achievements into the well-being of the people’s livelihood. Through the multi-dimensional integration of the education chain, industrial chain, and talent chain, a systemic approach is used to build a comprehensive science popularization ecosystem, allowing the scientific spirit to take root in the fertile soil of practice. Integration models such as “science popularization + industry,” “science popularization + education,” and “science popularization + culture” not only make scientific and technological innovation perceptible and tangible but also cultivate a deep social soil for high-quality development. Guided by the national strategic scientific and technological forces, a batch of demonstration bases for the integration of “science, education, research, and production” will be established. Implement a high-quality science popularization project and support the publication of a batch of high-quality science fiction works.

打好“科普+”的“组合拳”。科普战略的实践价值，突出体现在科技创新成果向民生福祉转化的效能提升。通过教育链、产业链、人才链的多维融合，以系统性思维构建全域科普生态，让科学精神扎根实践沃土。“科普+产业”“科普+教育”“科普+文化”等融合模式，既让科技创新可知可感，更为高质量发展培育深厚社会土壤。‌以国家战略科技力量为牵引，建设一批“科教研产”融合示范基地。实施科普精品工程，支持出版一批高质量科幻著作。

Draw the “concentric circle” of universal participation. The main task of science popularization is to raise the scientific literacy of the people and stimulate the innovative wisdom of the populace. Therefore, it must reach the public through multiple channels and in all directions, making scientific knowledge and the scientific spirit “within reach.” Organize “Science Lecture Halls” by scientists in public places, carry out “Approaching Major Instruments to Learn Science” experiential activities in museums, science and technology museums, and libraries, conduct “Science Popularization into Schools” in primary and secondary schools, establish “Science and Technology Volunteer Service Stations” in communities, implement “Agricultural Science Popularization” in villages, and bring “5G Cloud Classrooms” to the fields. Expand the scope of the audience through activities such as “National Science Popularization Month,” enhance the public’s lifelong learning ability, continuously enrich the people’s spiritual world, and serve the comprehensive development of individuals. Support excellent original science popularization works, vigorously develop various forms of science popularization works such as animation, short videos, and games, support science and technology enterprises in developing science popularization products, allow cutting-edge technologies to feed back into knowledge dissemination, and prosper the science popularization creation industry.

绘就全民参与“同心圆”。科学普及的主要任务是提高国民科学素质，激发人民的创新智慧，因此必须多渠道全方位走进公众，让科学知识与科学精神“触手可及”。在公共场所组织科学家开设“科学大讲堂”，在博物馆、科技馆、图书馆开展“走近重器学科学”体验活动，在中小学开展“科普进校园”，在社区建立“科技志愿服务站”，在乡村实施“农业科普”，把“5G云课堂”开到田间地头。通过“全国科普月”等活动扩大受众范围，提高公众终身学习能力，不断丰富人民精神世界，服务人的全面发展。支持优秀科普原创作品，大力开发动漫、短视频、游戏等多种形式科普作品，支持科技企业开发科普产品，让前沿技术反哺知识传播，繁荣科普创作产业。

Looking back over the journey of more than a hundred years, from the enlightenment of “Mr. Science” [5] to the “Spring of Science” [6], from “science and technology are the primary productive forces” [7] to the innovation-driven development strategy, Chinese Communists have always grasped the pulse of the times in scientific and technological development. Standing at the historical intersection of the “Two Centenary Goals” [8], the strategic layout for science popularization is not only a foundational project for building a strong nation in science and technology but also an important measure for fully, accurately, and comprehensively implementing the new development concept. Only by adhering to the two wings of scientific and technological innovation and science popularization, driving forward with both wings, can we seize the commanding heights in the global wave of the scientific and technological revolution, let the light of science illuminate the path of national rejuvenation, and write a new chapter of science and technology in the grand practice of realizing Chinese-path modernization.

回望百余年征程，从“赛先生”启蒙到“科学的春天”，从“科学技术是第一生产力”到创新驱动发展战略，中国共产党人始终把握着科技发展的时代脉搏。站在“两个一百年”奋斗目标的历史交汇点，科普战略布局既是科技强国建设的筑基工程，更是完整准确全面贯彻新发展理念的重要举措。唯有坚持科技创新与科学普及一体两翼、双轮驱动，方能在全球科技革命浪潮中抢占制高点，让科学之光照亮民族复兴之路，在实现中国式现代化的壮阔实践中书写新时代的科技篇章。

(The authors are respectively a specially appointed researcher of the Beijing Research

（作者分别系北京市习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特约研究员、对外经济贸易大学党委副书记，对外经济贸易大学党委宣传部副部长）

Online editor: Chu Yang

网络编辑：初阳