A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is on the upswing in today’s world, bringing about profound changes to human development and offering a new path for solving and responding to difficulties and challenges for global development.
As the world is now facing the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, people have recognized more than ever that science and technology have a marked impact on world’s future and people’s wellbeing.
China’s experience in racing against time to fight tenaciously against the virus—from identifying the whole genome sequences of virus strains in the shortest possible time to introducing various testing kits, and from selecting effective drugs and treatments to advancing vaccine research and development—once again proved that mankind cannot defeat the pandemic without science and technology.
While analyzing the reasons behind China’s major strategic achievements in its response to COVID-19, Prensa Latina, the official state news agency of Cuba, pointed out that the application of new technologies is an important part of China’s “remedies” for the virus.
Desperately needed vaccines against COVID-19, developed and tested at record speed, were selected as the first of the top ten scientific breakthroughs of the year 2020 by the Science magazine in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the website of the British science journal Nature listed “the effectiveness of several new vaccines will become clearer in early 2021” as one of the science events to watch for in 2021.
One promising prospect in 2020 was that digital medical services finally gained recognition, said Forbes on its website.
Scalable and sustainable digital health solutions will help improve health for everyone in the world, according to a report recently issued by the World Health Organization, predicting the development prospects of digital health in the following five years.
Scientific and technological innovation also serves as the key driving force for global economic recovery.
According to a report released by the World Economic Forum, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated 10 key technology trends, including online shopping and robot deliveries, digital and contactless payments, remote work, distance learning, telehealth, online entertainment, supply chain 4.0, 3D printing, robotics and drones, as well as 5G and information and communications technology.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs called on policymakers from all countries to seize the opportunity of technological advancement to establish a digital strategy for the future and support their nations’ long-term sustainable development.
China has always made innovation the primary driving force for development. It has achieved remarkable achievements in innovation and demonstrated its strength in this regard.
China’s new large carrier rocket Long March-5B made its maiden flight on May 5, 2020; its Mars probe Tianwen-1 is flying toward the red planet; the Chang’e-5 lunar probe returned to Earth with samples collected from the moon on Dec. 17, 2020.
Meanwhile, China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System was officially commissioned and its deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe, or Striver, has completed sea trials in the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest natural trench in the western Pacific Ocean.
Source: People´s Daily