The 18th China-ASEAN Expo (PHOTO:XINHUA)

BY LIU Hao & QI Liming

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the relationship between China and the ASEAN. The innovation of sci-tech exchange between China and the ASEAN member states is flourishing in all aspects and the cooperative benefits during the past three decades have been inspirational.

To further the aims of this sci-tech exchange, the 9th Forum on China- ASEAN Technology Transfer and Collaborative Innovation, hosted by Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and organized by the Department of Science and Technology of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Center (CATTC) was held in Nanning city, China from September 9 to 13 online and offline.

Participants from MOST and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region along with diplomats of Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and other ASEAN member states attended the opening ceremony of the Forum.

CATTC has established a collaborative network of technology transfer, extensively covering the institutions and enterprises both from China and the ASEAN member states during the past eight years.

Additionally, CATTC has successfully held eight conferences on China - ASEAN Technology Transfer and Collaborative Innovation, organizing more than 100 activities on technology docking, promoting nearly 6,000 projects, which involves more than 8,500 enterprises, and facilitating the signing of more than 630 cooperation agreements.

As a member state of ASEAN, Singapore has incubated many sci-tech cooperation projects with China. Low Yen Ling, Minister of both the Ministry for Trade and Industry, and Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore, said online that, "Nanyang High-tech Innovation Center is a vivid example of technology research collaboration between Singapore and China, and I am sure it will foster more innovative collaborative projects for the benefit of the people from our two countries."

Speaking online, Fortunato de la Peña, Secretary of Science and Technology of the Philippines said, "We have been looking forward to more cooperation in the areas of common interest, taking this burgeoning science and technology partnership to another high level in the future."

"Looking ahead, we are willing to join hands with the ASEAN member states in planning for scientific and technological cooperation, adding strong innovation impetus into the development of China-ASEAN strategic partnership, actively building a closer China-ASEAN partnership on sci-tech innovation, and taking the capacity of regional innovation to a new level,"a MOST official said.