A delegation led by ZHANG Jiejun, deputy director-general of the Department IX of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), visited the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to study talent recruitment, development, and retention in basic research on August 24, 2026. (Credit: IHB)

On August 24, 2026, a delegation led by ZHANG Jiejun, deputy director-general of the Department IX of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), visited the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to study talent recruitment, development, and retention in basic research.

Accompanied by IHB deputy director XIE Shouqi, the delegation toured the Yangtze Cetacean Breeding and Conservation Center, the Cetacean Specimen Museum, the Goldfish Museum, and the Center for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Aquatic Life Sciences. They learned about porpoise conservation and breeding, and aquatic biodiversity conservation, and asked about the challenges facing basic research talent.

Zhang praised IHB's achievements in aquatic basic research, calling basic research the foundation of scientific and technological self-reliance. He encouraged IHB to further unleash talent innovation and produce more original results.

XIE Shouqi thanked MOST and the Hubei Provincial Department of Science and Technology for their support and said IHB would use the visit to deepen talent reform and strengthen original basic research.