Exhibition areas in the ZGC Forum. (PHOTO: S&T Daily)

By LU Zijian & TANG Zhexiao

The 2023 Zhongguancun (ZGC) Forum opened on May 25 in Beijing, adopting a theme of "Open Cooperation for a Shared Future." This year's ZGC Forum not only shone a spotlight on the importance of international cooperation, but also released and displayed a large number of sci-tech achievements.

International cooperation promoted

The ZGC Forum has always been a crucial platform for international exchanges and cooperation on sci-tech since its establishment in 2007.

Wang Zhigang, China's minister of science and technology, said at the plenary meeting that China will implement a more open, inclusive, reciprocal and shared strategy for international sci-tech cooperation. He noted that China is willing to join hands with other countries to focus on optimizing an open innovation ecology, strengthen joint research in key areas and actively engage in the global sci-tech innovation governance.

Renowned experts, entrepreneurs and investors from over 80 countries and regions, met virtually or in person to exchange views and discuss the future of sci-tech innovation, in particular regarding digital economy, AI, life and health, carbon peaking and neutrality.

At the International Forum on Basic Sciences, STI and Sustainable Development, a parallel forum of the 2023 ZGC Forum, Adrian Smith, president of The Royal Society, UK, said that science is fundamentally a global endeavor, requiring cooperation cross borders, and that scientists always find ways to work together whatever the global environment.

This was echoed by Wang Meng, deputy director of international cooperation office, Aerospace Information Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, who told Science and Technology Daily that issues like climate change and environment pollution facing the entire planet must be solved through international cooperation.

An international sci-tech innovation center

At the opening ceremony of ZGC forum, an assessment report on construction of the Beijing International Center for Science and Technology was released, suggesting that Beijing has preliminarily established a sci-tech innovation center of global influence. Wu Hequan, academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that notable achievements have been made in the construction of the center, and it has become a crucial force in the global innovation network.

Ranking third in the top 100 science and technology clusters listed by the Global Innovation Index 2022, Beijing is now one of the most vibrant innovative cities in the world.

A number of international sci-tech organizations have set up their headquarters in Beijing, including the International Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association, International Coalition of Intelligent Manufacturing and International Panel of Mesoscience.

Beijing will build a cluster for headquarters of international sci-tech organizations in Chaoyang district to attract more organizations, according to the information released at the opening ceremony.

Advanced Sci-tech achievements released

A large amount of profound sci-tech achievements were also exhibited during the ZGC forum.

Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences issued a new generation cloud platform for quantum computing named Quafu. With three superconducting quantum chips of 136, 18 and 10 quantum bits, the platform is the largest cloud platform in China, and its precision for operation and loading exceeds 98 percent, reaching a world leading level.

For the first time, a research team from Peking University managed to induce human pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells by chemical reprogramming. Compared with traditional technologies, chemical reprogramming is safer, easier and simple to standardize and control.

There were also plenty of fascinating technologies displayed at the China Beijing International High-tech Expo during the 2023 ZGC forum.

Some of the highlights were a surgery robot which can remove the shell off a raw egg, brain computer interface (BCI) gloves which can perform hand function recovery training, a lighting drone that has been involved in dozens of fires, landslides and other emergency rescues. A batch of the latest technological advances and major achievements in the fields of AI, quantum information, intelligent manufacturing, medicine and health, were also showcased in the hall themed "Information Technology and Intelligent Manufacturing."

Held from May 25 to 30, the 2023 ZGC Forum is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other related departments and organizations.