On the afternoon of September 15, the State Council Information Office of PRC held a press conference to introduce the 2021 ZGC Forum. Li Meng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Jin Wei, Vice Mayor of Beijing Municipal People's Government, Huang Xiangyang, Director of the Construction Working Group Office of the National Science and Technology Innovation Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Zheng Haojun, Director of the Science and Technology Communication Center of the China Association for Science and Technology, attended the press conference to introduce the Forum and answer questions from the journalists.

Founded in 2007, ZGC Forum has grown into a national open innovation platform and international forum over years of development. General Secretary Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the ZGC Forum in 2019. He pointed out that it is of great significance to hold the ZGC Forum to discuss cutting-edge technologies and future industrial development trends, discuss global rules and governance for innovation, and promote the sharing of global innovation ideas and development concepts among countries. This important instruction has confirmed the direction for the development of ZGC Forum.

This year, the Organizing Committee and the Executive Committee of ZGC Forum were set up at the national level. A leader of the State Council and Cai Qi, Secretary of Beijing Municipal Party Committee serve as the Director of the Organizing Committee and the Director of the Executive Committee respectively. Thanks to the care and support of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the development and further improvement of ZGC Forum is guaranteed.

2021 ZGC Forum will be held in Beijing from September 24 to 28. The permanent theme of ZGC Forum is "Innovation and Development", while the theme of the Forum of this year is "Intelligence, Health and Carbon Neutrality". The Forum of this year is held to grasp the new development stages, implement the new development concepts and build new development patterns. Concrete measures to build Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center will help deepen technical opening-up and cooperation, promote Zhongguancun to build a world-leading science and technology park and innovation highland, and contribute wisdom and strength to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Mr. Li Meng introduced that, this year, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Beijing and other relevant organizers jointly planned a series of parallel forums, exhibitions, achievement release conferences, frontier events and other activities. The features of the Forum of this year can be summarized as "one main line" and "four enhancements".

"One main line" refers to international scientific and technological cooperation and exchange. ZGC Forum will be held to inject new impetus and make new contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. With focus on the main line, it’s possible to confirm forum theme, set up segments, arrange activities and prepare guest topics.

The annual theme of "Intelligence, Health and Carbon Neutrality" is of great significance, as it reflects the new trend of science and technology and industrial development, the high degree of global consensus and the major national strategy. The theme implies a broad space for international exchanges and cooperation and concerns science and technology frontier, global consensus and national strategy. The "four enhancements", namely internationalization, high-end orientation, professionalism and platformization, will be carried out to comprehensively enhance the size and influence of the Forum.

• Internationalization – Representatives from the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Council for Science, the European Patent Office, the Gates Foundation and the journals “Nature” and “Science” will attend ZGC Forum by delivering speeches and co-organizing parallel forums. Hundreds of foreign ministers of science and technology, presidents of academy of sciences, as well as heads of important international organizations and multinational companies will attend the Forum online.
• High-end orientation - Nobel Prize winners, Turing Prize winners and other global top scientists, representatives of well-known scientific research organizations, as well as world-renowned entrepreneurs and investors will gather at the Forum to discuss the frontiers of science and technology and industrial development. A group of cutting-edge technologies, leading-edge products, authoritative reports and blockbuster releases will be present in turn at the Forum.
• Professionalism – With focus on hot issues such as artificial intelligence, quantum information and the prevention and control of major infectious diseases, top scholars from Cambridge University, Yale University, Tohoku University, University of Technology Sydney and other academic institutions will be invited to exchange ideas with professional, cutting-edge and in-depth discussions.
• Platformization - With focus on science, technology, products and market, the Forum aims to give play to the important role of the academic research and discussion platform, talent exchange platform, achievements display platform and technology trading platform, and promote academic communication and facilitate industrialization of scientific and technological achievements.

At the press conference, Jin Wei indicated that, the work for the Forum has been well prepared under the leadership of the organizing committee and wide support of organizations.

Basic information of the Forum

With the annual theme of "Intelligence, Health and Carbon Neutrality", 2021 ZGC Forum will be held at the Exhibition Center of Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing. The conference will open on September 24 and last for 5 days, focusing on 6 segments, namely, forum conference, display and demonstration, achievement release, frontier competition, technology trading and supporting activities. Moreover, 60 events together with a series of regular activities will be held throughout the whole year. The Forum is characterized by the points below:

• Important activity - The opening ceremony of the Forum will be held at 8 pm on September 24. State leaders, foreign dignitaries, heads of international organizations, diplomatic envoys to China, and heads of world-renowned and industry-leading enterprises will be invited to attend the opening ceremony. Before the opening ceremony, state leaders will patrol the venues.
• Conference forum - The plenary meeting of the Forum will be held at 9am on September 25th, relevant awards of Beijing Science and Technology be issued, and guests from home and abroad be invited to deliver keynote speeches. Meanwhile, 25 parallel forums will be held in respect of science and technology frontier and hot topics.
• Display and demonstration - ZGC forum exhibition (Science and Technology Expo) will be held, five venues including comprehensive venue will be set up, and more than 500 Chinese and foreign enterprises will display their latest achievements.
• Achievement release - During the Forum, a number of major innovative research achievements, including the Ethical Code for a New Generation of Artificial Intelligence and long-life superconducting qubit.
• Frontier competition - Zhongguancun International Frontier Science and Technology Innovation Competition will be organized with focus on 12 hard science and technology fields such as medicine and health. There are more than 960 registered projects for competition, of which 30% are implemented by international teams.
• Technology trading - Zhongguancun International Technology Trade Conference will be held to cover 15 events such as the first launch and promotion of new technologies and products, and converge more than 500 new technologies and products.
• Supporting events - Special events for enterprises mainly including Zhongguancun innovative enterprises will be held to promote in-depth exchanges, enhance understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation for entrepreneurs, investors and scientists.
• COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control - The Forum will be held in the "online + offline" mode. The organizing committee has set up a special COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control team, studied and formulated COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control work plans and emergency plans, and strictly implemented all prevention and control measures. The next step will be taken to improve prevention and control strategies in light of changes in the COVID-19 epidemic at home and abroad to ensure zero infection.

Special highlights of the Forum

• Forum positioning has been further improved with high-end feature highlighted. After 14 years of development, ZGC Forum has become a global, comprehensive and open high-end international forum on science and technology innovation. To better serve the national strategy, Beijing will further enhance its political standing, adhere to the standard of excellence, and strive to build ZGC Forum into a national platform for global exchanges and cooperation in science, technology and innovation. On the one hand, the sizes of the Forum have been upgraded comprehensively, which fully reflects the great importance attached by the CPC Central Committee. On the other hand, the Forum will be held to adhere to the "four orientations", fulfill the concept of technology for social good, focus on the theme of "Intelligence, Health and Carbon Neutrality", elaborately organize planning and exhibition activities, perform panoramic, three-dimensional and multi-angle display a number of frontier scientific and technological achievements, discover and explore a batch of disruptive technology, and contribute wisdom and strength to the promotion of the global technology innovation cooperation.
• The influence of the Forum has further expanded with highlighted internationalization. The Forum is held to invite guests from foreign dignitaries, Nobel Prize winners, Turing prize winners, academician-level experts and other top scientists, as well as well-known entrepreneurs and investors. Nearly 400 foreign guests from more than 40 countries and regions around the world will attend the Forum and deliver speeches. The Forum will be dedicated to building a professional platform for exchanges and cooperation among governments, enterprises and research institutes. We look forward to in-depth exchanges and discussions, experience sharing, consensus enhancement and sharing of innovative ideas and development achievements in the world.
• The achievements of the Forum have been further implemented with highlighted effectiveness. With adherence to a normalized mode to hold conference, we have held 17 events such as the Life Science and Technology Innovation Forum, with "monthly events and quarterly highlights". It’s required to set up a platform for the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, with a focus on young entrepreneurs, medium small and micro start-ups, and specialized, leaning, characterized and innovative enterprises. And, it’s also required to conduct a series of activities including technology release, capital matchmaking, project roadshows, centralized signing of contracts, and negotiations and exchanges. The forum will provide all-round intimate services throughout the year to implement "one-time exhibition for year-round service" and create a never-ending ZGC Forum.

Li Meng indicated that, the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center is a major strategy determined by the CPC Central Committee. The Ministry of Science and Technology, in accordance with the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, has strengthened its support for Beijing to build itself into an international science and technology innovation center with global influence.

Such support can be summarized as follows:

• Supported Beijing to build strategic scientific and technological forces, including taking a lead to build Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei National Technological Innovation Center and lead the collaborative innovation community in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region; support organizations in Beijing to undertake major national scientific and technological projects during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, provided powerful support for Tianwen 1, Chang'e 5, the Fendouzhe (Striver) and other major science and technology achievements, and gathered a number of high-level research teams that meet major national needs.
• Supported Beijing to focus on advantageous areas and shape the first mover advantage; set up the first national new-generation AI innovation and development demonstration zone and the national AI high-tech industrialization base in Beijing, and supported the construction of 23 national clinical medical research centers, which account for about half of the country's 50 national clinical medical centers. The Ministry of Science and Technology also work with relevant departments to implement two action plans to accelerate Beijing's development into a globally influential source of artificial intelligence and medical and health innovation, in an effort to build two engines for the development of high-tech, sophisticated and cutting-edge industries and lead the support for high-quality development in Beijing.
• Supported Beijing to jointly set up the disruptive technology innovation fund, explore a new path of combining science and technology with finance, and strive to control the commanding heights of future industrial development; supported some universities and research institutes in Beijing to carry out pilot scheme to expand the "green channel" performance evaluation of scientific research autonomous right, and to grant researchers the ownership and long-term right to use their scientific and technological achievements; supported Beijing to jointly study and launch a new round of reform measures in Zhongguancun and further give play to the driving role of scientific and technological reform in Zhongguancun.
• Gave powerful support to Beijing to fight against COVID-19 epidemic by science and technology. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Beijing Municipal Government have established a coordination mechanism, supporting organizations in Beijing to take a lead to implement about 78 national epidemic research emergency projects worth nearly 400 million yuan; supported Beijing to make number of important achievements in vaccines and diagnostic reagents, which have been used in anti-epidemic activities. On this basis, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Beijing Municipal Government have further improved the mechanism of collaborative research between the Ministry and Beijing, and carried out research and development layout and capacity building in the field of vaccines and drugs.
• Supported Beijing in opening up and innovating – specifically, supported the organizations in Beijing to build two the Belt and Road joint laboratories (Sino-Cuba Molecular Immunity and Sino-Italy Advanced Manufacturing), and create platforms for international exchanges and cooperation; supported universities in Beijing to construct a number of college bases for innovation and talent attraction in frontier fields such as brain science and micronanoelectronic technology.
  Regarding the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Ministry of Science and Technology has, together with 21 other departments, formulated and implemented the Strategic Action Plan for the Construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center, and will, together with each department, deploy the Strategic Action Plan to facilitate the construction of the Center and take a lead to create the strategic support for innovative countries.
  In response to questions from journalists, Jin Wei indicated that, it is Beijing's historical responsibility to build itself into Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center. In recent years, Beijing has actively integrated itself into the global science and technology innovation network, strengthened the layout of science and technology innovation, continued to improve the innovation ecosystem, and made new progress in building an international science and technology innovation center. ZGC Forum has also become a national platform to showcase achievements in scientific and technological innovation to the world and deepen international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation.
• Complete display of the new effectiveness to create national strategic science and technology forces. In recent years, Beijing has been actively preparing for the establishment of national laboratories, and planned to establish new high-level international R&D institutions such as the Quantum Information Science Research Institute and the Brain Science and Encephaloid Research Center, deepened the reform of the science and technology system, strived to activate innovation vitality with a large number of original achievements. Some new R & D organizations will hold parallel forums to invite top global experts to conduct in-depth exchanges and release a number of major scientific and technological achievements.
• Complete display of the new achievements in the construction of the main platform of the Three Cities and One District. In recent years, Beijing has made overall promotion of the construction of the main platform of the Three Cities and One District and Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone. Zhongguancun Science City will focus on deepening reform of the innovation system, improving the systematic capability of scientific and technological innovation, and accelerating the building of a landmark cluster of artificial intelligence. Huairou Science City focuses on the construction and operation of large scientific installations and cross-research platforms, continues to improve and optimize assorted public service facilities, and strives to foster an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Future Science City aims to mainly implement the life technology catch-up project and promote the agglomeration of international advanced energy industry. Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone mainly undertakes the implement of three major science city projects mentioned above. These achievements will be fully demonstrated at this forum.
• Complete display of the new effectiveness in developing industries of high-grade, high-precision, advanced technology. In recent years, we have issued and implemented the "10+3" policy and planning for industries of high-grade, high-precision, advanced technology and other major industrial policies, and vigorously developed the above industries, with number of state-level high-tech enterprises in the city exceeding 29,000, and the added value of the industries accounting for 1/4 of GDP. The forum will be held to highlight a number of projects of high-grade, high-precision and advanced technology, first launch more than 200 new technologies and products, and hold a number of promotional activities.
• Complete display of the new effectiveness in building a global innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. In recent years, Beijing has issued regulations on promoting the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, issued and implemented major policies such as the "30 Rules on Scientific and Technological Innovation", and witnessed positive changes in the urban innovation and entrepreneurship ecology. This year, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Ecology Index 2021 released by a globally renowned entrepreneurship research institute, Beijing has been promoted to the TOP3 of the world's best cities for the first time. In the future, Beijing will continue to carry out pilot reforms, further optimize the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, and fully unleash the vitality in innovation and creativity by various talents.

When answering questions from the journalists, Huang Xiangyang indicated that, CAS’s involvement in hosting ZGC Forum is an important measure to participate in the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center during the 14th Five-year Plan period.

CAS will focus on the two themes - Carbon Neutrality and Health, will host the Technology Forum on Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Neutrality, the 4th International Seminar of Integrated Science Centers and the 2021 Annual Conference of the International Cooperation Alliance of National Science Centers. Meanwhile, CAS will, together with the Ministry of Science and Technology and Beijing, host the Global Science and Life Health Forum, release a major achievement, and recommend relevant projects to participate in the technology trading conference and frontier science and technology competition.

CAS has always attached great importance to the work on Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Neutrality, deployed a major consultation project on "Carbon Neutrality" led by CAS academicians Ding Zhongli, Zhang Tao and Gao Hongjun, and organized nearly 100 academicians and experts for consultation and research. It will introduce the research progress at this forum on Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Neutrality. In addition, experts and scholars from research institutions, universities and enterprises will discuss the "scientific and technological innovation path on Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Neutrality” to provide scientific and technological consultation and relevant work support for the realization of Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Neutrality.

The International Seminar of Integrated Science Centers and the Annual Conference of the International Cooperation Alliance of National Science Centers will be launched jointly by CAS and Beijing. At this platform, the participating experts will share experience in the construction of science centers, explore the sharing mechanism of major national science and technology infrastructure, plan cooperation in international major science programs, and enhance the international influence of China's comprehensive national science centers. At the seminar, leaders from relevant organizations at home and abroad will exchange views on "the new mode of international science and technology cooperation under the new situation".

At the Global Science and Life Health Forum, CAS will cooperate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and Beijing to invite domestic and foreign experts to hold discussions on the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines, actively explore scientific solutions to jointly fight the COVID-19 epidemic, and promote the cooperation in vaccine research and development.

When answering questions from the journalists, Zheng Haojun indicated that, China Association for Science and Technology and its affiliated national societies have maintained good relations of exchange and cooperation with many international academic organizations.

At the opening ceremony of this year's ZGC Forum, Daya Reddy, president of the International Council for Science, will deliver an invited speech, and a number of international academic organizations will also participate online. At the parallel forum of open-source innovation development, China Association for Science and Technology invited the Linux Foundation, OpenAtom Foundation, OpenInfra Foundation, RISC-V International Open Source Laboratory and other open source foundations and the international research institutions to participate in the Forum, and also invited some well-known experts in international open source domain for in-depth exchanges.

In order to promote international technology trading cooperation and support the high-quality development of Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone, China Association for Science and Technology also made full use of its advantages in international liaison and initiated the establishment of the International Technology Trading Alliance, which has been supported by 103 domestic and foreign technology trading institutions. This year, the Alliance will expand its domestic and international partners, attract prime international resources, and strive to expand its membership to 150 international institutions in 20 countries and regions. In the future, it is necessary to further improve the working mechanism of the Alliance, hold international council meetings, give full play to the role of the secretariat of the Alliance, enhance information sharing and resource pooling among member units, and establish an effective mechanism to provide good services for Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone and other innovation and entrepreneurship clusters.