Ladies, gentlemen and friends,

Good morning!  

In this golden and fruitful October, when the Chinese people are still immersed in the joyful atmosphere of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic China, the honored guests from all over the world are gathered here in Beijing for the First World Science and Technology Development Forum, to exchange insights on the development of science and technology and to discuss opening-up and cooperation. I would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone here today. President Xi Jinping specifically sent a congratulatory letter to this Forum. Now I will read his congratulatory letter.  

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

A new round of S&T revolution and industrial transformation are resonating with the socio-economic transformation and development in various countries. The transdisciplinary integration of Big Science is getting increasingly prominent, thus giving rise to new knowledge and new technologies. The forces driving industrial upgrading and development emerge one after another, and technology coexists in harmony with and develops in tandem with the economy and the society. On the other hand, under the influence of human activities and climate change, the environment and ecosystems are deteriorating across the globe, thereby seriously threatening the survival and development of human beings. The deficit in peace, development and governance has also become a critical factor constraining human development. Working together to deepen international exchanges and cooperation and leveraging science and technology to promote sustainable development are not only imperative to addressing global challenges, but also compliant with the new expectations of people from all countries and the global science community.  

Science, technology and innovation (STI) must serve as the fundamental driving force for sustainable development, which is an inevitable choice for all mankind to survive and is compliant with the common aspirations of the vast majority of countries in the world. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2016 stresses that science and technology are the most fundamental and core driving forces for achieving the goals under the Agenda. Echoing the Agenda, the Chinese Government has taken the lead in integrating the 2030 Agenda with China's strategic plans. The Chinese science community will vigorously push ahead the sustainable development and the technology innovation in various fields, and will work closely with international counterparts to promote the building of a community of shared future for mankind and to jointly build a better future for mankind.

The development of science and technology must follow the shared global values. The transformation toward sustainable innovation requires us to accelerate the realization of sustainable development through scientific and technological advances and to underpin human well-being with science and technology. Given the "double-edged sword" characteristics of science and technology, we must prospectively reflect on the regulatory and ethical challenges that the technological revolution might bring, improve the institutional norms, perfect the governance mechanisms, strengthen the ethical research, and curb the negative effects. China will further promote the building of a comprehensive, well-directed, standardized, orderly and coordinated scientific ethics governance system, and will team up with all countries to promote the transformation and development of the global science and technology governance system in order to serve the sustainable development and the advancement of human civilizations.

Scientific and technological cooperation must become an important means for the exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, which serve as an important driving force for the advancement of human society and the development of civilizations, in which science and technology are one of the most important and active areas. To address the common challenges, we must uphold equality and mutual respect, discard arrogance and prejudice, advocate the borderless, barrier-free and nondiscriminatory spirit of and cooperation on science and technology, and set up more cooperation platforms through discussion, collaboration and sharing, thereby supporting the concrete actions for sustainable innovation and jointly promoting the sustainable development of human society.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

Under the theme of "Science, Technology and Development", this Forum focuses on the topics of "S&T revolution and Industrial Transformation", "Science & Technology and Education & Culture" and "Growth of Young Scientists and SMEs" to echo the new trends in the era of changes. Over the past years, attaching great importance to the work of science and technology and talent development, China has been striving to create favorable conditions for STI to serve the sustainable development of humanity. China puts a strong focus on basic research, encourages free explorations and scientific breakthroughs, and constantly improves its technology innovation system with enterprises as the mainstay, market as the orientation and industry-university-research integration as the main approach to inject strong impetus into the sustainable development of society of economy.  

China is striving to develop a modern education system powered by digital, information and internet technologies, to promote the sharing of educational resources through STI, to foster scientific spirit through science education, and to constantly improve people's science literacy. The convening of internationally renowned conferences such as the World Conference on Science Literacy and the Young Scientists Summit has provided an open platform for the academic exchanges and growth of young talent and the realization of their value of life, guiding those young talent to contribute their wisdom and strength to the building of a community of shared future for mankind.  

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

At present, in the face of world multi-polarization, economic globalization, cultural diversification and in-depth development of social information, it has become our common vision to leverage science and technology to underpin the sustainable development of human civilizations. I sincerely hope that all guests from all over the world can strengthen exchanges, opening-up and cooperation through this Forum, reach a consensus on development, and jointly contribute your wisdom and strength to the sustainable development of human society and the advancement of human civilizations.  

May the First World Science and Technology Development Forum a complete success!