China aims to achieve scientific literacy among at least 15 percent of its population by 2025, according to a new national plan for sci-tech popularization released on Tuesday.

Scientific literacy refers to the spirit of scientific aspiration, the knowledge of basic science and scientific methods, and the ability to apply them to analysis and problem-solving.

The plan sets the 2025 goal at 5 percentage points above the 2020 figure. The proportion of scientifically literate Chinese citizens was 10.56 percent in 2020, exceeding the target of 10 percent set in the country's 13th Five-Year-Plan (FYP) period (2016-2020). 

The new plan is jointly compiled by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the China Association for Science and Technology.

In the next few years, China will further enhance efforts to develop a diversified investment mechanism and more education bases for science popularization, according to the plan.

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(With input from Xinhua)