Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Beijing Monday there remains a relatively big gap between the overall scientific and technological level of China and that of the world advanced level.

"The overall scientific and technological level of China still cannot meet the requirements of China's economic and social development in many fields," Hu said at China's Fourth National Conference on Science and Technology, which opened Monday morning in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Hu said the ratio of self-owned key technology remains low, the capability of innovation is not strong enough, especially the core competitive power of enterprises.

The scientific and technological level of agriculture and the rural economy remains relatively low; the ratio of new and hi-tech industries in the entire economy is still not high; in some key areas of the industrial technology, reliance on foreign technology remains relatively high, many high-tech and high-value added products mainly rely on imports; the strength of scientific research is not strong and outstanding and top-notch talents are much under-supplied; input in science and technology is not enough and there exist many drawbacks with relevant systems and mechanisms, said Hu.

Source: Xinhua