On the afternoon of July 23, YUAN Jiajun, Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, hosted a meeting with a group of scientists to discuss the role of science professionals in developing Zhejiang as a demonstration zone for common prosperity. At the meeting, he emphasized the need to fully grasp and put into practice the guiding principles from President XI Jinping's speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of CPC. He also called on all participants to carry forward the CPC's revolutionary spirit and Zhejiang's pioneering spirit, living up to their scientific spirit and contributing to common prosperity with their scientific achievements.

HUANG Jianfa, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, and three other leadership members from the provincial government, including ZHU Guoxian, CHEN Yijun, and LU Shan, were also present at the meeting. Zhejiang Lab President ZHU Shiqiang and Senior Research Specialist SHI Junhui attended the meeting on behalf of the Lab.

Based on his research interests, SHI Junhui delivered a speech concerning the topic of this meeting. He said that the most appealing platform to science professionals abroad would be an innovation platform featuring new structures and mechanisms. Before returning to China to join Zhejiang Lab, SHI had studied and worked in prestigious overseas universities for 12 years, with a solid academic career in the area of biomedical imaging. "With the full support from the Lab, I quickly organized a research team of 12 members, developed a variety of high-performance ultrasound sensors, achieved breakthroughs in new photoacoustic imaging technology, applied for 16 patents, and contributed to the publication of two papers in a sub-journal of Nature," said SHI. His efficient work at the Lab proved that returning to China during the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020 was "correct and worthwhile". He also joined the Lab's talent development program as a recruitment specialist and introduced three high-level experts from abroad to the Lab.

"We tackle problems day after day in the laboratory. We are doing this not only for science, but also for our nation," said SHI. He believes that as a science professional, he should work for national and social needs regardless of gains and losses, seizing opportunities to create more useful and applicable technologies. "Considering the lack of semiconductor testing devices in some industries in China, we have developed a high-resolution ultrasonic microscope, which will soon enter the stage of commercialization. We will therefore have home-made semiconductor testing devices in the future," said SHI. His team is also working on in-vivo nondestructive imaging, a cutting-edge technology with great potential for application in basic science fields such as neuroscience. "In order to develop a demonstration zone for common prosperity, we should aim at major scientific issues and breakthroughs in core technologies, enabling the efficient application of our research outcomes and bringing real benefits to the society and the people," said SHI.

"Zhejiang Lab is an important tech innovation platform initiated by the Zhejiang Provincial Government. It is our mission and responsibility to develop China's technological strength and serve regional economic and social development," said Lab President ZHU Shiqiang after the meeting. According to him, as a tech innovation organization, the Lab will identify the right role and path to firmly support the high-quality development of a common prosperity model. In particular, by focusing on critical problems, the Lab will enhance its independent innovation ability and accelerate the progress toward a technological center in the demonstration zone. In addition, it will target strategic emerging industries and future industries to establish industrial competition, and seize the opportunity brought by the digital reform to strengthen the application of technologies. It will also enhance its awareness of social responsibility and establish a motivation mechanism for giving back to society, thereby laying a solid technological foundation for common prosperity.

All departments and research institutes (centers) of Zhejiang Lab also had an in-depth discussion on the development of a common prosperity model. On July 22, at an internal meeting with the Lab's CPPCC members, researchers of the Lab shared their views on how to promote the development of the demonstration zone. RUAN Yuping from the Research Institute of Artificial Intelligence believes that in order to boost common prosperity, it is necessary to deepen the integration of technology development and industrial application, enabling artificial intelligence to empower education, healthcare, and other areas related to people's livelihood. GUO Rongbin from the Research Institute of Future Networks, who is currently studying 6G-oriented terahertz technology for new solutions to novel infrastructure projects, believes that "in order to promote common prosperity through tech innovation, a practical approach is to transform research outcomes into productivity for social development."

Tech innovation and digital reform are the core impetus for social change in the new era. Focusing on national goals and needs, Zhejiang Lab will study and develop basic theories, key technologies, and core systems in the field of intelligent science and technology. It will generate new impetus through tech innovation to support regional economic and social development, thereby contributing to the high-quality development of a demonstration zone for common prosperity.