BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.

SCI-TECH DEVELOPMENT

Over the past 10 years, China’s sci-tech strength has grown along with the development of the country’s economic strength, becoming a driving force for Chinese modernization, according to a press conference on Monday.

China’s sci-tech strength and its global influence in innovation have been significantly enhanced, Wu Zhaohui, vice minister of science and technology, told a press conference on the 2023 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing.

The R&D investment of Chinese society has increased three times from 1 trillion yuan (about 144 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 3 trillion yuan in 2022, according to Wu.

SUGAR INTAKE

A systematic review by Chinese researchers has found that dietary sugar intake is associated with several adverse health issues, such as weight gain and coronary heart disease.

Although many studies have focused on the associations between sugar consumption and a range of health outcomes, factors like deficiencies in the study design, varying measurements and inconsistent findings make drawing definitive conclusions difficult.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL BASE

A base for archaeological research and the protection of cultural relics in South Asia and Southeast Asia was put into use on Tuesday in Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

The base was jointly built by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the provincial government, and it has a total construction area of over 9,800 square meters. It is equipped with a specimen exhibition hall and warehouse, a room for the collection and analysis of information on cultural relics, and a room for research on the technological conservation and restoration of cultural relics.