老外在中国：憧憬未来

I was ten years old in 1966, when the original Star Trek television series first ran. This was the time of the moon race, when everyone predicted that we were at the start of a new space age. My family lived in Florida and an uncle worked at Cape Canaveral, so, of course, I dreamed of growing up to be an astronaut. Almost none of those dreams—personal or societal — have come true. After all, I’m not writing this from my office on the moon.
1966年，《星际迷航》原版电视连续剧第一次播出时我只有10岁。那是太空竞赛的时代，在这个时代每个人都预言我们处于新太空时代的开端。我们一家人居住在弗罗里达州，我的叔叔在卡纳维拉角工作。因此，我的理想自然是成为一名宇航员。可惜，无论是个人理想还是社会理想几乎都没有实现。毕竟，我此刻不是在月球上的办公室写这篇文章。

Unlike the current, brain-dead, shoot-em-up movies, the original Star Trek series was deeply philosophical. It pictured alternative societies—both utopias and dystopias. But, the thing that really attracted me as a teenager was the Star Fleet Academy—a university for future Star Fleet officers. Maybe, it would be up and running by the time I turned 18.
跟如今那些无脑的枪战片不同，《星际迷航》电视连续剧具有深刻的哲理。这部电视剧交替描述了乌托邦和反乌托邦两个社会。然而，真正吸引年少的我的是一所培养未来星际军舰军官的星际舰队学院。或许，在我十八岁的时候，它就会成为现实了。

As I got older, I became more interested in the Vulcan Science Academy—a research institution located on the planet Vulcan. Graduates of the VSA could solve any technical or scientific problem within the hour-long TV episode.
随着年龄的增长，我对瓦肯星的研究机构——瓦肯科学院越来越感兴趣。瓦肯科学院的毕业生都很优秀，他们可以在一集一小时长的电视剧里解决任何技术或科学问题。

I had no luck getting into either Star Fleet or the VSA, but I’ve recently had the pleasure of visiting a number of impressive research academies in China. These are specialized research centers, funded by both the central government and provincial governments. They are mostly separate from universities—although they do have doctoral students. In the US most of this type of research is done at universities, so we don’t have such organizations that are designed to provide research on social and economic issues directly to government officials at all levels.
很不幸，我没有进入星际舰队和瓦肯科学院，但最近我有幸参观了中国的一些研究机构，它们给我留下了深刻的印象。这些都是中央政府和省级政府共同资助的专业研究中心。尽管有许多博士在这里做研究，但大部分研究中心独立于大学。在美国，这种研究大部分在大学进行，因此我们并没有这种专门为各级政府官员研究社会和经济问题的机构。

For example, the Hunan Academy of Social Sciences, in Changsha, is doing interesting economic analysis designed to inform both the Hunan government and the central government about the possible consequences of the trade war.
例如，长沙的湖南社会科学院正在进行一项有趣的经济分析，该分析旨在向湖南省政府和中央政府报告贸易战带来的潜在影响。

I also got a chance to visit the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Institute, which has greatly improved the yield of rice, feeding hundreds of millions around the world. In Hebei province, the Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Sciences is making similar improvements in the yield of millet. Both organizations are working to make those advances available to farmers in Africa. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says that five research organizations in China are key components of its South-South Cooperation program.
我还有幸参观了湖南杂交水稻研究所，该研究所大幅提高了水稻的产量，给全世界数亿人口提供了粮食。河北省张家口农业科学院也在谷子产量方面取得了巨大的提升。两个机构都致力于让这些研究进展造福非洲的农民。联合国粮农组织表示，五个中国研究机构是南南合作计划的关键组成部分。

The Chinese Academy of Sciences includes 104 research institutes with leading researchers in all sciences. I had the opportunity to visit the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, which is advancing the new science of using ancient DNA to explore human history.
中国科学院有104个研究机构，拥有科学界的顶尖研究人员。我也有幸参观了古脊椎动物和古人类研究所，其研究成果推动了利用古人类DNA探索人类历史的新科学。

China is now working to upgrade its manufacturing, to produce more high value-added products, and to become a leader in technological innovation.
中国正致力于升级制造业，生产更多高附加值产品，并最终成为技术创新的领导者。

In a 2017 speech to the CAS, Premier Li Keqiang said: “Manufacturing is the key to the nation's economic development, and the economic restructuring requires making the sector stronger. But the sector is still on the low to medium tier compared with other leading countries, thus it is vital to improve the quality and upgrade to increase competitiveness.
2017年，李克强总理在中科院的演讲中表示，“制造业是国家经济发展的核心，经济重建要求制造业更加强大。但是，与发达国家相比，我们的制造业依旧处于中低端水平。因此，提升产品质量，提高竞争力至关重要。”

The upgrade depends on innovations, and manufacturers should make technological breakthroughs by focusing on quality and branding and using top manufacturing countries as benchmarks.”
产业升级依靠创新，制造商应该聚焦于质量和品牌，以制造大国为基准，实现技术突破。

Private companies are essential to this effort. For example, Alibaba, iFlytek, and others are pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence and Huawei is one of the world’s leading innovators in 5G.
私营企业也发挥着重要作用。例如，阿里巴巴，科大讯飞及其他企业正在拓展人工智能发展的无限可能，同时华为成为了5G领域的全球领先创新者之一。

But, fundamental scientific research is also key to the transformation of the economy. These research academies, which are present in every large city in the country, are working with industry to push the technology out of the laboratory and into the economy. I’m still hoping that warp drive is on the agenda.
然而，基础科学研究也是经济转型的重要影响因素。这些研究机构分布在中国各大城市，它们和企业联手推动了技术从实验室到经济的转型。我希望，超光速旅行的理想能早日实现。

翻译：薛蕾（实习）
编审：董静 丹妮
音频编辑：焦洁
更多内容请关注“CHINA DAILY”微信公众号：

About author and broadcaster

David Blair writes for the international weekly editions of China Daily.