Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong on Thursday called on science workers to make greater contribution to the building of an innovation-oriented country in China.

During a visit to academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Lu Liangshu in the afternoon, Zeng extended Spring Festival greetings to him and thanked 81-year-old Lu for his contribution to China's wheat breeding and cultivation over the last 60 years.

The government will provide a broader stage for science workers in building a new socialist countryside in the country and encourage them to enhance the innovation capability in agriculture, said Zeng.

Zeng also visited Wang Yongzhi, also an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and the chief designer of Shenzhou VI manned space program.

Zeng spoke highly of Wang's outstanding contribution to China's space program, hoping Wang would help train more innovative personnel for the development of space science.

Wang, 73, won the country's top science and technology award in 2004.

In the evening, Zeng went to the Beijing-based National Institute of Biological Sciences, where he met with research staff at the laboratories and heard a report by director of the institute Wang Xiaodong.

The rapid development of the institute shows the importance and necessity of attracting Chinese talented professionals abroad to return to start business, Zeng said.

He hoped the returned talents, who are at their thirties and forties, would cooperate well and attract the first-class professionals to formulate first-class mechanisms in the field of life science for first-class achievements.

The vice president also urged government departments concerned to try to attract more talented professionals abroad to come back to join in the building an innovation-oriented country.

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2006)