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The 21st CHITEC Holds the Themed Talks

2018-5-22 9:10:31

The 21st China Beijing International High-Tech Expo (CHITEC) held the themed talks on the morning of May 18 at the National People’s Political Consultative Conference Hall. Xia Mingjiu, a member of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Science and Technology; Yin Yong, Vice Mayor of Beijing and Vice President of the CHITEC Organizing Committee; and Gerhard Schröder, former German Chancellor, delivered speeches at the meeting respectively. He Hua, deputy director of the State Intellectual Property Office, as well as the provincial and municipal leaders attending the CHITEC including Yao Laiying, An Lijia, Huo Jinhua, Shi Yiyun, Meng Xiaolin, Yang Peijun and Zhang Chunlin attended the themed talks. Zhang Wei, Vice President of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, chaired the themed talks. Upwards of 1,000 representatives from the domestic and foreign governments, scientific and technological circles, industrial circles, and all walks of life concerned in Beijing attended the themed talks.

Xia Mingjiu, a member of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said in his speech that the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core sets great store by technological innovation, emphasizing that innovation is the primary driving force for development and the strategic support for developing a modernized economy. It makes systematic arrangement for putting into action the innovation-driven development strategy; makes clear the strategic directions oriented to the forefront of the world’s science and technology, to major national needs, and to the main battlefield of the national economy; and sounds the clarion call for becoming a global power in science and technology. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the scientific and technological community and people from all walks of life nationwide in recent years, China has witnessed many breakthroughs in basic science, and advanced in leading-edge technology on many fronts, with rapid application of technological achievements and flourishing innovation and entrepreneurship. A host of major technological achievements have been made, including Tiangong space station, Jiaolong manned submersible, Tianyan FAST, Wukong DAMPE, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale Mozi and large aircraft, supporting China’s economic and social development and contributing to the advancement of the world’s science and technology and human civilization. Globally, a new round of scientific and technological revolutions and industrial changes are accelerating. The rapid development of technology such as artificial intelligence, quantum, and gene editing has brought new opportunities for the advancement of human civilization, and also poses unprecedented challenges. China will actively integrate into a global innovation network with a more open mind, and enhance technological exchanges and cooperation with other countries in resources, the environment, economy, and security, so that technological innovation becomes a new engine for common prosperity and development.

Xia Mingjiu said that this CHITEC takes the construction of the national science and technology innovation center as the theme, and serves the national innovation-driven development strategy with its real action. It is in line with the global trend of openness and cooperation, and corresponds to the Belt and Road initiative and the collaborative development of the Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei region. It builds a professional and internationalized exchange and cooperation platform for bringing together Chinese and foreign government organizations, research institutes and well-known enterprises, showcasing outstanding scientific and technological achievements, and promoting the application of major scientific and technological innovation achievements and international technology transfer. Beijing is the host of CHITEC and a pioneer in innovation-driven development in China. In recent years, Beijing has unswervingly implemented an innovation-driven development strategy and accelerated the establishment of a national science and technology innovation center, with remarkable results. The current CHITEC will effectively promote the deep integration of technology, personnel, and capital in Beijing into the globalized open development process.

Yin Yong, Vice Mayor of Beijing and Vice President of the CHITEC Organizing Committee, delivered a speech on behalf of the organizing committee and the Beijing Municipal Government. Yin Yong said that CHITEC has seen 20-year development since its inception in 1998. Over the past two decades, CHITEC has kept pace with the times and continuously innovated the concept and forms of exhibitions, and has maintained a momentum of thriving development. It has become an important window for displaying technological innovation achievements and a key bridge for promoting technological exchanges and cooperation. It has made important contributions to the building of national science and technology innovation center and making China an innovative nation. The technology, product and talent exchange platform established by CHITEC has promoted the application of a wealth of major scientific and technological achievements and promoted the effective coordination of technology and industry. CHITEC is a vital platform for displaying scientific and technological achievements and a booster for urban development. As a form of convention and exhibition, CHITEC can promote the development of the industry and the development of the city. The prosperity of the convention and exhibition industry has attracted a great deal of capital, technology, and talent for a city’s scientific and technological innovation. It promotes the formation of an innovative ecosystem, greatly enhancing the vitality and competitiveness of urban development.

Yin Yong said that at present, Beijing is accelerating the transformation and development of the city and embarks on a new path of high-quality development in accordance with the strategic positioning as China’s political center, cultural center, international communication center, and technology innovation center as made clear by General Secretary Xi Jinping. To achieve this goal, we must rely on technological innovation. This CHITEC adopts the theme of “Take the Lead in Hi-tech Industries and Facilitate the Development of S&T Innovation Centers”, in the hope that this platform will showcase new achievements in the development of China’s science and technology industry, display new achievements in the construction of “three cities and one district”, promote the application of technological achievements, and enhance the support and level of scientific and technological innovation for economic and social development. This year coincides with the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening-up. Beijing will open wider to the outside world, strive to raise the visibility of CHITEC on the international arena, adhere to the “boldly go global” and “actively bring in” strategies, accelerate integration into the global innovation network, continuously increase the elements of internationalization, and achieve international standards in exhibition level, exhibitors, and attendees, etc., building a better platform for all-round, deepened cooperation and exchange.

At the themed talks, Deng Zhonghan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and general director of the “Starlight China Chip”, made a speech entitled “Take the Lead in Hi-tech Industries and Facilitate the Development of S&T Innovation Centers”; Ling Wen, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and General Manager of National Energy Investment Group Co., Ltd., made a speech entitled “Innovation Leads the Future of Energy”; Tao Xiongqiang, Deputy General Manager of China POTEVIO Information Industry Group Co., Ltd., made a speech entitled “Innovation is the Driving Force of High-quality Development”; Carole Bureau-Bonnard, the first deputy head of the French National Assembly, made a speech entitled “The Opportunities and Prospects of China-France Exchanges and Cooperation in Science and Technology”; Henning Kagermann, Chairman of the German Academy of Science and Engineering, made a speech entitled “The Innovation System of Germany”.

The 21st CHITEC kicked off on May 17, 2018. With 45,000-square-meter area of exhibition, the 10 forum meetings and 12 promotion and trading activities of CHITEC being fully launched, showcasing new achievements in the implementation of innovation-driven strategies, highlighting the changes and practices of innovation institution and mechanism, and demonstrating a host of achievements of high-tech and cutting-edge technologies and industrial cluster; dozens of heads of international organizations, and well-known experts and scholars, and entrepreneurs at home and abroad will deliver speeches concerning the leading role of high technologies, integration and innovation, openness and sharing, green development, artificial intelligence, smart cities and other hot topics; A number of key brand projects involving industry, universities and research institutes in technology and industry development with high technology content and promising market prospects are launched to attract global investment for cooperation. Over 1,600 tech companies participated in the exhibition. Three international organizations including UNESCO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Factors Chain International, and 56 delegations from 46 countries and regions including Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, South Korea, Lithuania, and the United States took part in the CHITEC activities; over 20 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities including Tianjin, Jilin, Henan, Hainan, Tibet, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and municipalities with independent planning status participated in the event. From May 17 to May 20, the visitors can collect the ticket at the entrance to China International Exhibition Center for free admission on production of the valid certificate of the ticket holder.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Intellectual Property Office, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and the Beijing Municipal People’s Government, and organized by CCPIT Beijing, the China Beijing International High-Tech Expo has been held for 20 sessions since its inception in 1998. CHITEC has gradually formed a framework integrating comprehensive events, exhibitions and display, promotion and transactions, forums and meetings, and online exhibitions, becoming a professional global iconic brand event for displaying latest technological achievements at home and abroad, disseminating forefront ideas, releasing industrial policy information, and promoting international economic and technological cooperation. According to incomplete statistics, over 900 overseas government and technology, economic and trade delegations from more than 100 countries and regions have participated in the previous 20 CHITEC sessions. Upwards of 35,000 high-tech companies and research institutes have rolled out the latest technological achievements, and CHITEC has recorded a total of 5.42 million visits; nearly 1,000 high-level forums and special exchange activities under 221 themes have been held. Famous scientists, economists, and renowned corporate leaders at home and abroad have delivered 5,426 speeches; 230 trade and economic negotiation activities involving domestic and foreign investment cooperation, technical trade and key urban development projects have been held, attracting nearly 120,000 Chinese and foreign investors. 5,509 contracts, agreements and agreements of intent with a total amount of 996.19 billion yuan have been signed. The CHITEC has provided a practical link for promoting the integration of industry, university, research institute and application, providing technical demonstration for new growth and upgrading of traditional growth, and providing an important platform for deepening international cooperation in production capacity and expanding space for technological innovation.