The 2025 International Congress of Basic Science is now underway in Beijing. The event draws over a thousand scholars from China and abroad, including Nobel Laureates, Fields Medalists, and Turing award winners.

But in a world increasingly driven by fast results and commercial returns, why does basic science still matter? What happens when artificial intelligence begins solving problems that once took humans years or even decades? And can science still be a shared human endeavor in an era of rising geopolitical tension?

Host Zhao Ying is joined by Zhang Fan, Associate Professor of Astronomy Department of Beijing Normal University; Quentin Parker, Director of Laboratory for Space Research, University of Hong Kong; Andy Mok, Tech Analyst and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization