Chinese State Councilor Chen Zhili on Tuesday called for improvements to China's innovative capability so as to build an innovation-oriented country.

Last year was significant for China which established a key strategy of embarking on a new path of innovation and building an innovation-oriented country, Chen said at a national conference on science and technology.

The year 2006 also saw the implementation of the national guidelines for medium and long-term science and technology development and the 11th five-year plan for science and technology, she said.

The development of key scientific projects and increased self-innovative capability has contributed to economic and social progress of the country, she said.

While affirming achievements made in scientific and technological fields, China needs to be aware of the gap between it and developed countries, she stressed.

She urged quicker implementation of the national guidelines to optimize the climate for self-innovation.

She urged local governments and companies to continue to give priority to key scientific projects and turn scientific research into products.

She required the universities and research institutes to closely cooperate with enterprises in order to combine research with production and markets.

She stressed: "we value the work of personnel in scientific and technological fields but we need to root out academic scandals."

She also called for innovations in the management of scientific and technological development to create a favorable environment for innovations.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2007)