When the People's Republic of China was founded, there were not more than 50 thousand scientific and technological personnel and only 30-odd professional research institutions in the country and there were almost no modern science and technology. The Chinese government made great efforts to develop science and technology from the just beginning of the Republic, setting up a lot of scientific research institutions. Meanwhile, a great number of scientists studying abroad, responding to the call of the Party and government, resolutely came back to join the state construction. Till 1955, more than 840 scientific research institutions had been established in the country and scientific and technological personnel increased to 400 thousand.

	Premier Zhou Enlai in a cordial conversation with the scientists' representatives. In July 1949, the late Premier Zhou said at the preparatory meeting of scientists' representative conference: "in the near future, we must establish people's own academy of sciences, hoping you all to join the preparatory work."

	In June 1955, the Academic Departments of Chinese Academy of Sciences were founded. Guo Moruo, president of Chinese Academy of Sciences, made a speech at the opening ceremony for the founding of the Academic Departments.

	In 1956, Yang Xiufeng, minister of the former Ministry of Higher Education gave a banquet in honor of 700-odd scholars back from abroad