“Adhering to the openness and cooperation of science and technology for the benefit of mankind is one of the important experiences in the development of China's scientific and technological undertakings in the new era.” Chen Zhu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that science and technology innovation profoundly affects the fate of the country's future, and in the tide of globalization and informatization, no country can promote science and technology innovation in isolation, so it should share the fruits of science and technology with the world in a more open manner to achieve common development.
From December 6 to 8, 2024 Tengchong Scientists Forum was held in Tengchong, Yunnan Province. More than 1,000 academicians and experts, university presidents, young scholars and entrepreneur representatives from home and abroad engaged in heated discussions on topics such as strengthening scientific and technological cooperation, cross-fertilization of disciplines, and opening up the innovation chain, deepening their understanding and forging a consensus through exchanges and mutual understanding.
The cause of science and technology from following participation to leading pioneering, from breakthroughs in key areas to the enhancement of systematic capabilities ...... Since the 18th Party Congress, China has become an increasingly important pole in the global innovation map, and the ranking of the global innovation index has risen from 34th in 2012 to 11th in 2024.
Standing on a new starting point, what mission do scientists shoulder? The Tengchong Science Prize established by the forum gives an answer. This award is aimed at rewarding global scientists who have made major breakthroughs in the frontiers of science and technology, solved major problems and challenges faced by mankind through technological innovations, and achieved significant economic or social benefits from their research results. This year's winners are Xue Qikun and Xie Xiaoliang, academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Xue Qikun led the team to use special materials magnetic topological insulator film, the first experimental discovery of the quantum anomalous Hall effect, was evaluated by the Grand Prize, “the world's basic research in the field of an important scientific discovery”. “Exploring new materials and discovering new effects is an important means of developing new quality productivity and cultivating high-level labor.” Xue Qikun said the team is working hard to develop further applications on the basis of scientific discoveries, which will ultimately serve national and human needs.
At present, the accelerated breakthrough application of new-generation information technology such as artificial intelligence and quantum information is strongly catalyzing the cross-fusion of multiple disciplines and changes in scientific research paradigm, which has become the focus topic of attention of the guests at this forum.
As a biophysical chemist, Xie Xiaoliang has made creative contributions in molecular biology, genomics and emerging interdisciplinary disciplines related to clinical medicine over the years. The genome-wide amplification technology invented by his team has enabled more than nine thousand families with single-gene genetic diseases to successfully avoid offspring transmission of the diseases.
“In recent years in my field of life medicine, there have been breakthroughs in AI macromodeling, biospecimen databases, and many other interdisciplinary breakthroughs that I am actively learning from. All these show the change of biomedical research paradigm towards big data and big team development. In this situation, scientific and technological innovation can no longer be done separately, and more frequent exchanges and cooperation among scientists and between countries is the general trend.” Xie Xiaoliang said.
Participating academicians and experts said that the integration of artificial intelligence and other disciplines not only lies in improving the efficiency of scientific research and innovation, but also fundamentally breaks the boundaries of disciplines and accelerates the reconstruction and evolution of the knowledge system.
“At present, 73 colleges and universities in China have been approved for the first-level disciplines of doctoral or master's degree in intelligent science and technology, and 169 colleges and universities have independently set up more than 250 off-catalog second-level disciplines or cross-disciplines related to intelligence. Through the construction of disciplines, high-level talents from multiple disciplines have been brought together to promote the innovation of knowledge, methods and technologies.” Gan Minggang, vice president of Central University for Nationalities, believes that promoting the deep integration of AI and traditional disciplines requires technical collaboration between disciplines, as well as in-depth cooperation between universities, research institutes and enterprises, and hand in hand to build an innovation ecosystem in the field.
In order to transform the “key variable” of scientific and technological innovation into the “maximum increment” of economic development, the transformation of achievements is a key link. The forum released 216 domestic advanced scientific and technological achievements and 100 technical needs, and actively promote scientific and technological achievements from the “bookshelf” on the “shelf”, to serve local economic and social development.
Tsinghua University Fei Weiyang academician team of carbon capture technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Dalian Institute of Chemical Sciences Li Can academician team of green hydrogen coupled with efficient carbon dioxide conversion technology, this time it will be green hydrogen methanol production, storage, transportation, addition, with an integrated project landed in Yunnan Qujing. “Yunnan has rich wind and water resources, the project will be widely used in transportation, iron and steel metallurgy, energy and chemical industries, to promote the green transformation of industry and the efficient use of resources, but also in the country to play a demonstration role.” Dr. Han Diefei, a member of Academician Li Can's team, said.
Science and technology innovation and entrepreneurship can not be separated from the stable support of financial living water. In the view of Chen Liang, Chairman of China International Capital Corporation, on the one hand, it is necessary to invest in early, small, long-term and hard science and technology through the equity investment fund, so as to provide stable long-term and patient capital for high-quality science and technology innovation enterprises; on the other hand, through the linkage between the primary and secondary markets, it is possible to let the enterprises go public for financing, and at the same time, it is also possible for the capital to realize an effective exit, so as to promote the formation of the “science and technology-industry-financial” model. -On the other hand, through the linkage of the primary and secondary markets, enterprises can be listed and financed, and capital can be effectively withdrawn, thus promoting the formation of a virtuous cycle of “science and technology”, “industry and finance”.
The Forum announced the launch of the Tengchong Scientists Forum Development Fund and the Chinese herbal medicine industry development fund, which will focus on supporting the expert resources linked to the Forum and high-quality results on the ground. According to reports, since the first held in 2022, Tengchong Scientists Forum has contributed to a total of 496 talent introduction projects, investment projects 780, with an agreed investment of 190 billion yuan.
