Farmers use tractors to gather rice in Huaian, Jiangsu province. XINHUA
During a general assembly of China’s top scientists and engineers in 2018, President Xi Jinping said “historic, holistic, and structural” changes had taken place in the science and technology sector in recent years.
在2018年的一次中国科学院、中国工程院院士大会上，国家主席习近平表示，这些年来，我国科技事业实现了历史性、整体性、格局性重大变化。
Many innovations have allowed China to catch up with other scientific powerhouses or even lead in certain frontier fields, Xi said.
重大创新成果竞相涌现，一些前沿方向开始进入并行、领跑阶段，习近平说道。
As innovation is the driving force of development, Xi said efforts must be made to ensure high-quality science and technology to support the development of a modern economy.
创新是第一动力，因此，习近平提出要提供高质量科技供给，着力支撑现代化经济体系建设。
A significant example is hybrid rice. Almost half a century has passed since agricultural scientist Yuan Longping developed the first strain in 1970, and by the end of 2018 farmers in more than 40 countries had planted 7 million hectares of the crop.
一项重大创新便是杂交水稻。1970年，农业科学家袁隆平培育出了第一个杂交水稻品种，如今近半个世纪过去，截至2018年底，已有40多个国家种植了超过700万公顷的杂交水稻。
In January of this year, Chinese scientists announced the cloning of five monkeys from a gene-edited macaque with circadian rhythm disorders.
今年1月，中国科学家宣布，通过体细胞克隆技术，从一只经过基因编辑的猕猴身上，成功获得5只生物节律紊乱的克隆猴。
It was the first time multiple monkeys had been cloned from a gene-edited monkey for biomedical research.
这是国际上首次从一只经过基因编辑的猴子身上，成功获得一批用于生物医学研究的克隆猴。
The cloned monkeys were born at the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai.
这些克隆猴都诞生于上海的中国科学院神经科学研究所。
Bai Chunli, the academy’s president, said the idea of obtaining core technologies and improving China’s innovative capacity has been the key mission for the academy, which is also celebrating its 70th birthday this year.
中国科学院院长白春礼表示，掌握核心技术，增强中国创新能力，一直都是中科院的主要任务，今年也是中科院建院70周年。
Bai said to enhance the nation’s scientific power, China needs to learn how to tackle major challenges with limited resources.
白春礼认为，要增加国家科技实力，就必须学会用有限资源解决重大问题。
Despite these achievements, Dou Xiankang, president of Wuhan University, said China was still lacking in key technological fields, such as microchips, which could hinder the nation’s socioeconomic development.
尽管取得了诸多成就，但武汉大学校长窦贤康认为，中国仍缺乏微晶片等核心科技领域方面的技术，阻碍了国家社会经济发展。
“To overcome these obstacles, the first thing is to attract and build a team of young, high-quality talented people,” he said.
“要克服这些发展障碍，首先要吸引并建设一支年轻、高素质的人才队伍，“他表示。
“The second is to increase investment in human capital, as well as more government support. Solving these bottleneck issues will certainly require patience and time, but I am sure we will have fewer such issues in the future.”
“第二是加大人力资源投入，获得更多政府支持。解决这些瓶颈问题的确需要耐心和时间，但我相信未来这些问题会逐渐减少。”
