China’s top science discoveries reveal research momentum, challenges in funding and innovation

The list also includes a novel technique for quantum error correction developed by researchers from a number of universities, led by a scientist from the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen. The technique is a key step towards making quantum computers more reliable in the future.

“These advances reflect the remarkable progress China has made in basic science,” an NSFC representative told state-run news agency Xinhua on Thursday.

“However, releasing this list, we also call for creating a research environment that further encourages innovation and tolerates failure to generate more breakthroughs.”

China’s top legislature vows to overcome US tech and science sanctions

Shen Zhiqiang, director general of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, said that while the list showed increasing contributions from the private sector, more non-government funding would be needed when it comes to basic science, which is “expensive and full of uncertainty, but can lead to groundbreaking findings that will benefit all of mankind”.

“China needs to establish a flexible system to attract diverse investment from private and social capital, support basic research, and stimulate the innovative vitality of the whole society,” Shen told domestic media while attending China’s annual parliamentary meetings, known as the “two sessions”, in Beijing on Monday.

Chinese scientists have developed a gene-editing tool that doesn’t use CRISPR

Other top-ranked discoveries include the activation of viral elements in our genetic make-up, which play a role in ageing, the mechanism for DNA’s unzipping process, the suppressive effects of light on blood sugar metabolism, and the identification of a physical “biological clock” in the human brain.

Basic research is about being creative, trying different things, and not always knowing where it will lead, the NSFC official told Xinhua.

“In some sense, an environment conducive to innovation is more important than the innovation itself,” he said.

Nearly half of the researchers involved in the top findings were under the age of 45, he added.

To better support young talent, the agency plans to extend funding to outstanding undergraduate and doctoral students.

The NSFC will also extend support for projects that receive excellent assessments upon completion, he said, which could add up to 15 years and nearly 30 million yuan (US$4.17 million) in an effort to nurture leading scientists.

Shen said the Chinese government has put more money into basic research every year, bringing the advantage of a top-down system into full play.

However, he said government investment alone would not be enough. Shen called for the mobilisation of private resources and removal of institutional barriers to help China grow into a basic research superpower.

It remains unclear how much private investment can be drawn to support basic research in China.

In recent months, tech giants Alibaba and Baidu announced they will quit their quantum computing research projects. Alibaba, the owner of the South China Morning Post, will donate its quantum lab to Zhejiang University while Baidu will donate its research facility to the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences.

Observers said the moves might be commercially driven or a result of the government’s tightening grip on strategically important fields in basic science.