2025 ZGC Forum: Advancing Global Sci-tech Cooperation, Innovation

The 2025 Zhongguancun (ZGC) Forum Annual Conference, with the theme "New Quality Productive Forces and Global Science and Technology Cooperation," commenced on March 27 and will run until March 31.

During the opening ceremony, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing said China is willing to work with other countries to explore new models of mutually beneficial and win-win sci-tech cooperation to drive the development of new quality productive forces amid the deepening new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation.

China has been implementing an innovation-driven development strategy and achieving results in the integration of sci-tech and industrial innovation, while strengthening the momentum of new industrialization and steadily developing new quality productive forces, Zhang added.

A highlight of the opening ceremony was the release of China's Top 10 Scientific Advances in 2024 by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. These achievements are in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, information science, chemistry, materials science, energy, earth and environmental science, as well as life and medical science.

The feats include findings from the Chang'e-6 lunar mission, which cast light on volcanic activity on the far side of the moon 2.8 billion years ago. The progress in allogeneic CAR-T therapy for autoimmune diseases, which marks new frontier in medical science, was another accomplishment.

The forum also presented 10 groundbreaking scientific and technological achievements in 2024. These included EAST's record-breaking 1066-second steady-state high confinement plasma operation and the High Energy Photon Source's successful emission of its first synchrotron radiation light. The achievements were innovations of far-reaching global significance, heralding new era of scientific exploration.

This year's forum has five distinct segments: meetings, technology trade fairs, achievement announcements, frontier competitions, and supporting events. The discussions are on cutting-edge fields such as AI, embodied AI, digital technologies, quantum technology, biomedicine, 6G, and brain-computer interfaces. Over the course of five days, 128 activities are being held, offering a rich panorama of insights and innovations.

Experts, policymakers, and entrepreneurs from over a hundred countries and regions have congregated to deliberate on the most pressing development issues, aiming to unlock the vast potential for international cooperation in science and technology.

The Open Science International Forum, a parallel session of the forum, was held on March 28 on the theme "Open Sharing for further International Scientific Cooperation."

It focused on key issues in open science, such as the strategies, policies and mechanisms of global open science cooperation. Domestic and international experts discussed promoting global collaboration in fundamental research, technological innovation and academic exchange.

Another key event, the International Forum on Science and Diplomacy, is scheduled for March 31 on the theme "Promoting International Scientific and Technological Cooperation and Building."

The participants will discuss how science and technology can act as a catalyst for cooperation among nations. This will be a high-level platform for constructive dialogue, promoting mutual understanding, and contributing to a more open, inclusive, and collaborative global innovation ecosystem.

The annual ZGC Forum, launched in 2007, covers a wide gamut of topics today. From China's latest breakthroughs in basic research and the intricacies of cross-border data flows, to the innovative applications of green financing and the transformative potential of AI models in industry, the forum has become a crucible of ideas and innovation, and a testament to the infinite possibilities of human creativity.

Source: Science and Technology Daily