On April 27th, Shing-Tung Yau, the first Chinese recipient of the Fields Medal, a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, and a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, stated in an interview with China News Service during the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum that the development of basic science is not immediate. Generally, it takes 5 to 10 years to see results. If the initial goal of basic science is to start a company, it will be challenging for basic science to progress. It needs space and time for development. Although the investment in basic science is not substantial, everyone believes that there must be economic benefits to pursue it. In reality, basic science cannot be driven solely by economic outcomes. China has excelled in applied science, but without a strong foundation in basic science, it cannot thrive. Basic science research contributes to humanity in the long term and will eventually impact entire industries. It is impossible to expect every research endeavor to lead to a publicly traded company. (Xie Longfei, Dong Zeyu)
