China to hold 1st Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology

BEIJING -- The first Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange will take place in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality from Nov 6 to 7, the State Council Information Office said Monday at a press conference.

The conference will focus on inter-governmental cooperation in science and technology, people-to-people exchanges in science and technology, industrial innovation and development, paradigm change in scientific research, future medicine, open science, and big data.

The conference will set up five major sections, including the opening ceremony, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) sci-tech innovation ministerial meeting, theme activities, roundtables and results display, and tech main activities.

Over 300 foreign participants from more than 70 countries and international organizations have been invited to attend the conference, including Nobel Prize winners, academicians, experts, scholars, and university presidents, said Zhang Anjiang, vice mayor of Chongqing. China's academicians, university presidents, scientific research institutions, and representatives of key enterprises will also attend the conference, he added.

China has signed intergovernmental science and technology cooperation agreements with more than 80 BRI partners, jointly building a comprehensive, multi-level, and wide-ranging science and technology cooperation pattern, said Vice Minister of Science and Technology Zhang Guangjun.

China will adopt more measures to promote international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation and accelerate the building of an open innovation ecosystem with global competitiveness, Zhang said.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Engineering, China Association for Science and Technology, Chongqing Municipal People's Government, and Sichuan Provincial People's Government.