The facts and figures that Wan Gang, minister of science and technology, cited on Thursday at a news conference during the ongoing National People's Congress session painted a rosy picture of the country's development in science and technology.

That the country's exports of high-tech products ranked first in the world in 2012 speaks volumes for the tremendous progress we've made since the central authorities issued the country's long-term and mid-term plans for the development of science and technology in 2006.

The transformation of the economic growth mode that was proposed in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) has much to do with the importance the central authorities have attached to the role of science and technology in the country's overall development.