China's new deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe is being lowered into the water. (Photo provided to China Daily)

3. Deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe's diving record

China's new deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver) set off on Oct 10, 2020, for the 10,000-meter deep-sea diving operation in the Mariana Trench. During the expedition, it completed 13 dives, eight of which exceeded a depth of 10,000 meters.

It set a national record by diving to a depth of 10,909 meters in the Mariana Trench at 8:12 am on Nov 10, 2020.

Fendouzhe is the world's deepest-diving manned submersible, capable of carrying up to three passengers to conduct scientific research in the deep sea. With multiple breakthroughs in various key technologies, the Fendouzhe represents a milestone in the country's endeavor into deep-sea exploration.

A recovery staff member works at the landing site of the return capsule of Chang'e 5 probe in Siziwang banner, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Dec 17, 2020. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/For China Daily)

2. Chang'e 5 probe's retrieval of lunar samples

The Chang'e 5 mission, China's most complicated space project, has achieved the Chinese space industry's first extraterrestrial sampling and return. It has achieved many major breakthroughs including China's first lunar surface sampling and sealing, first liftoff from the moon, first rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit, and first spacecraft carrying samples to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

The success of the Chang'e 5 mission marks a conclusion of China's three-step lunar exploration project, which includes orbiting, landing and return. It represents a great step forward for China's space industry and will contribute to deepening our understanding of how the moon formed and the evolution of solar system.

China's Ministry of Science and Technology unveiled the country's top 10 scientific advances of 2020 on Saturday.

1. Chinese scientists make remarkable progress in tackling COVID-19

Chinese scientists teamed up to make a quick response to COVID-19 from the outset, making progress on various fronts while offering strong support to the nation to overcome the pandemic.

In January 2020, China's Center for Disease Control succeeded in isolating the first novel coronavirus strain and shared with the WHO information on the genomic sequence of the virus. They have revealed how the novel coronavirus infects human cells and continued probing how it is transmitted.

Combining Western methods and traditional Chinese medicine, eight editions of guidelines on diagnosis and treatment for pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus were published successively. More prevention and control measures were proposed such as setting up makeshift hospitals, conducting mass nucleic acid tests and using big data in tracing virus carriers.

Vaccines against the virus, including the inactivated vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, protein subunit vaccines and RNA vaccines are in the development with their efforts.