Liu made the remarks during a report she delivered at the biennial conference of the country's two top think tanks with research capacities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), which advise the government and industries on key scientific and technological issues.

She also called for efforts to deepen reform in the scientific and technological fields and promote further development in these fields in an effort to make China an innovative nation with advanced science and technologies.

In recent years, China has increased investment to promote scientific and technological development, and the sum reached 861 billion yuan (135.6 billion U.S. dollars) last year, Liu said, adding that progress in relevant fields have made major contributions to the country's economic and social development, the improvement of people's livelihoods as well as the development of civilization.

Noting that innovation has become an important force in the recovery and prosperity of the global economy and a leading dynamic in the reform and changes to people's production and lifestyle, Liu called on scientific and technological experts to accelerate their research in basic science as well as high-tech issues.

She also urged efforts to boost the innovative capabilities of the country's enterprises and to combine scientific and technological achievements with economic development.

Moreover, she called on experts to shoulder more social responsibility and set an example for both academia and society.

More than 1,200 members of the CAS and CAE attended the conference and heard the report.