Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang: Continue to strengthen scientific and technological exchange activities to respond to the epidemic

On the afternoon of September 24, the 5th China-CEEC Innovation Cooperation Conference was held during the 2021 Zhongguancun Forum in a combination of online and offline. At the meeting, Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology of China, put forward an initiative to "face the well-being of the people's livelihood and work together to cope with challenges", and China is willing to continue to strengthen scientific and technological exchange activities to deal with the epidemic with Central and Eastern European countries, work closely together in the fields of vaccines and traditional medicine research and development, jointly carry out scientific research on epidemic prevention and control, promote the joint construction of an international scientific and technological cooperation network for epidemic prevention and control, and systematically enhance the overall risk resilience of the economy and society of China-Central and Eastern European countries.

China-CEEC cooperation is a cross-regional cooperation platform jointly built by China and CEECs in accordance with common wishes, common needs and common development. In order to implement the relevant consensus of the china-CEEC leaders' meetings, since 2016, the China-CEEC Innovation Cooperation Conference has been successfully held in China, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia for four sessions, which has played an important role in strengthening bilateral relations between China and CEECs, enhancing the level of scientific and technological cooperation, and deepening innovation cooperation.

With the theme of "Open Innovation and Shared Development", the 5th China-CEEC Innovation Cooperation Conference takes "Innovation Supports Epidemic Prevention and Control", "Innovation Empowers Economic Recovery" and "Innovation Leads Sustainable Development" as priority topics, aiming to continuously deepen China-CEEC cooperation in science and technology innovation and serve the common interests and sustainable development aspirations of all countries.

Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology of China, introduced that under the joint promotion of china and the leaders of Central and Eastern European countries, the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe in scientific and technological innovation has developed rapidly and matured day by day, the number of participating departments in various countries has been increasing, the field of cooperation has been expanding day by day, the mode has been continuously upgraded, and pragmatic cooperation has been fruitful, which has made positive contributions to improving the well-being of the people of all countries and promoting the prosperity and development of all countries. China and Cecilia Eastern European countries have actively cooperated in vaccine research and development, expert exchanges, and epidemic prevention material assistance, and practiced the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind with pragmatic and efficient scientific and technological innovation cooperation.

Wang Zhigang said that China's scientific and technological innovation is innovation in an open environment, and China's action to expand cooperation in scientific and technological innovation will be firmer and the pace will be greater. At the conference, he proposed to work together to address global issues and challenges, face the well-being of the people, focus on green development, promote industrial upgrading, continue to carry out scientific and technological exchange activities to deal with the epidemic, focus on areas of common interest to carry out joint research and development, industrial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and strengthen dialogue and communication and coordination of scientific and technological innovation policies. He said that China is willing to work with Central and Eastern European countries to help each other overcome difficulties, promote broader and deeper cooperation in the field of scientific and technological innovation, and open up new space for the high-quality development of all countries.

In their speeches, ministers from Central and Eastern European countries pointed out that in the context of the continued spread of the new crown epidemic and the deep recession of the world economy, only by relying on scientific and technological innovation can we promote economic recovery and achieve green, inclusive and sustainable development. The ministers fully affirmed the achievements of china's previous scientific and technological innovation cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries, especially the results of international cooperation in epidemic prevention and control, and called on all countries to continue to strengthen scientific and technological cooperation and exchanges in response to the new crown pneumonia epidemic. They said that in the future, they will further promote scientific and technological innovation in the fields of artificial intelligence, energy and environment, health and health, and digital economy, increase investment in research and development, encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to innovate and start businesses, and strengthen bilateral and multilateral dialogue, joint research and development and talent exchanges between China and Central and Eastern European countries.

During the Conference, all parties reached consensus on cooperation on many issues. Interested parties jointly adopted the Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation between China and CEECs, including strengthening scientific and technological exchanges on epidemic prevention and control, jointly building a China-CEEC Innovation Cooperation Research Center, establishing and improving the liaison system for scientific and technological innovation cooperation, holding a forum for young scientific and technological talents from China and CEECs, and promoting scientific and technological cooperation in green fields such as carbon neutrality and carbon peaking.