[National Natural Science Foundation of China Yangtze River Delta Basic Research Joint Fund Major Special Project Launched] On September 12, at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Pujiang Innovation Forum held in Shanghai, a major special project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China Yangtze River Delta Basic Research Joint Fund was officially launched. This is an important measure after the expansion of the Shanghai International Science and Technology Innovation Center to the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center. It is understood that the major projects of the joint fund will be oriented to the major strategic needs of the Yangtze River Delta region, support application-oriented basic research, strengthen "industry-proposed questions, science and technology answer questions", and explore a collaborative mechanism of "unified funding, joint question-proposing, joint management, and joint answers to the same questions" among three provinces and one city. The major joint fund projects will give full play to the guiding role of the National Natural Science Foundation, integrate the Yangtze River Delta's superior resources, support cross-regional superior scientific research forces to jointly carry out basic research oriented to industrial needs, provide basic support for key core technology research in key industrial fields, and accelerate the cultivation and development of new productive forces.