Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has long prioritized scientific and technological advancement.

On February 9, he visited Beijing's E-Town Economic and Technological Development Area, where he reviewed progress in information technology applications and was briefed on efforts to build an international science and technology innovation center.

His first domestic inspection in Beijing this year, as the country enters its 15th Five-Year Plan period, has drawn wide attention from the science and technology sector.