On May 29, the Oil Crops Research Institute (OCRI) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) convened a symposium on the advancement of basic research. The meeting focused on in-depth study of the important speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the symposium on strengthening basic research, and conveyed the implementation requirements from the CAAS exchange meeting on studying and implementing the congratulatory letter from General Secretary Xi Jinping. It also reviewed progress in basic research across innovation teams, analyzed existing weaknesses and gaps, and systematically deployed key tasks and major measures for organized basic research.

The meeting emphasized that basic research is the wellspring of scientific and technological innovation and the core underpinning for overcoming "bottleneck" constraints and cultivating new quality productive forces. OCRI must firmly establish and put into practice a sound mindset on performance, consistently uphold the development philosophy of ‘centering on science, valuing dedicated contributors, conducting organized research, and pursuing innovation across the entire industrial chain’， anchor the strategic orientation of the ‘Four Orientations’， strengthen top-level design and systematic planning, promote the deep integration of basic and applied research, and accelerate the enhancement of original innovation capacity.

The meeting outlined key priorities going forward. First, research layout should be optimized by maintaining a problem- and demand-oriented approach, focusing on major national strategies such as soybean and oilseed production capacity improvement, and identifying forward-looking and strategic scientific questions to build a coordinated and efficient basic research system. Second, talent support should be strengthened by benchmarking leading international research institutions, improving talent cultivation and recruitment mechanisms, emphasizing task-driven development and mentorship, and actively supporting the growth of young researchers to consolidate the talent foundation for basic research. Third, funding support should be enhanced through steadily increasing investment in basic research, optimizing resource allocation, and improving evaluation and incentive mechanisms aligned with the characteristics of basic research. Fourth, international cooperation should be deepened by strengthening the foundation for global engagement, expanding collaboration channels, actively integrating into global innovation networks, and enhancing the international influence and discourse power of oil crop science research.