Xi: China ready to join nations to promote sci-tech innovation

Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang attends the opening ceremony of the 2023 Zhongguancun Forum and delivers a speech in Beijing, China, May 25, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the 2023 Zhongguancun Forum, which opened on Thursday in Beijing.

Yin Li, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, read out a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony.

Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, who attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech, said the congratulatory letter fully reflects that President Xi attaches great importance to sci-tech innovation and international cooperation.

As a new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation continues to evolve, mankind needs international cooperation, openness and sharing more than ever in order to address common development problems, Xi said in the letter.

Committed to a win-win strategy of opening-up, China is ready to join hands with other countries to promote sci-tech innovation and make science and technologies better serve people of all countries, he said.

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Xi stressed that Beijing should fully leverage its strengths in education, science, technologies and talent, coordinate sci-tech and institutional innovation, continue to promote pilot reforms in Zhongguancun, further accelerate the construction of a world-leading sci-tech park, and strive to take the lead in the innovation of cutting-edge technologies and the development of advanced and sophisticated industries.

The event has attracted guests from more than 80 countries and regions, as well as almost 200 international organizations, institutions and foreign government departments

Themed "Open Cooperation for a Shared Future," the 2023 Zhongguancun Forum is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the China Association for Science and Technology, and the municipal government of Beijing.

Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.

Ding stressed that China will speed up the implementation of innovation-driven development strategy to provide solid support for the high-quality economic and social development in the country.

China is willing to take an active part in global innovation cooperation and share the fruits of innovation development with the rest of the world, Ding said.

He put forward a three-point proposal, saying that efforts should be made to improve global innovation governance, promote international sci-tech cooperation, and intensify cooperation on the research of global issues.

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The large gathering has attracted guests from more than 80 countries and regions, as well as almost 200 international organizations, institutions and foreign government departments.

Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang visits an exhibition after the opening ceremony of the 2023 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing, May 25, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

"We are looking forward to engaging in in-depth exchanges and fostering consensus with guests from various sectors, pooling wisdom to enhance international cooperation on sci-tech innovation, and making contributions to global economic prosperity," said Wu Zhaohui, China's vice-minister of science and technology.

At present, China is embarking on an innovation trajectory that promises it a position among the world's innovation leaders in fields ranging from electric vehicles and battery technology to space, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, said Denis Simon, president of the Alliance of Global Talent Organizations.

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Zhongguancun was established in 1988 in northwestern Beijing, housing clusters of universities and research institutes. It is China's first national high-tech industrial development zone and is known as "China's Silicon Valley".

The Zhongguancun Forum was founded in 2007 and has grown into a national-level open innovation platform and an international forum.