Innovation forum stresses need for further science and tech development
Pujiang Innovation Forum launched its opening ceremony on Saturday.
The annual forum opened on Friday, however, and will run until Monday, having been held in Shanghai for 10 consecutive years.
Wan Gang, China's Minister of Science and Technology, stressed in his keynote speech that China will further develop fundamental research in order to meet the urgent needs of the country's development.
He said that science is a fundamental cornerstone in building up the country as a leading power. Achieving this requires strong original innovative capacity, including a number of significant scientific achievements, world-class scientists, and the close translation of sciences with the needs of industries and technologies.
He added that China has become the second largest source of high-quality research papers in the world, and has made a series of significant achievements in science and technological innovation.
Danish Minister of Science, Technology, Information and Higher Education, Soeren Pind, said that Denmark also greatly values science and technology as well as innovation. Many Chinese companies have already invested in Danish clean technology as it is a world leader in the area, and he is looking forward to more cooperation in the field between the two countries. The Kingdom of Denmark is the forum’s country of honor this year.
Two think tank reports were released on Saturday during the forum, following the two released on Friday.
The Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Center Index Report was issued by Shanghai Institute for Science.
The report shows that one third of the country's leading scientific output is produced in Shanghai. Local researchers provided 30 pieces of research to world-leading journals including Science, Nature and Cell.
More than one third of the country's leading technology awards were achieved by local research teams or scientific institutes, and one third of the country's new medication was developed in Shanghai.
The English version of the National Innovation Index Report 2016-2017 was also released during the forum. The Chinese version was first released in August by the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development.
According to the annual report, China’s innovation index increased to 17th among the 40 countries the report evaluates, up by one position from the previous year. The United States, Japan and Switzerland make up the top three.
