In early winter, Tengchong—the ‘first city at the edge of the frontier’—glowed with gilded ginkgo leaves and balmy breezes, drawing distinguished scholars and luminaries to its shores. On 7 December, the three-day 2025 Tengchong Scientists Forum drew to a close.
This gathering was a grand occasion where dialogue sparked intellectual exchange, consensus fuelled developmental momentum, and communication forged profound bonds.
Hailed as the‘Davos of Science and Technology,’the 2025 Tengchong Scientists Forum centred on the overarching theme‘Science and Technology Leading the Future’and the specific topic‘Science and AI Transforming the World.’It gathered over 1,000 experts, scholars, and business representatives, including Nobel Laureate in Physics Konstantin Novoselov, more than 130 academicians, and over 70 university presidents from China and abroad. Participants gathered to explore new pathways for integrating cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology with industrial applications.
Expanding the Circle of Friends: Enhanced International Influence
The 2025 Tengchong Scientists Forum demonstrated enhanced guest calibre and international influence, presenting a renewed vitality.
For the first time, three laureates of major international awards appeared together at the forum: Nobel Laureate in Physics Konstantin Novoselov, Turing Award recipient Andrew Yao, and Fields Medalist Efim Germanov. These three laureates engaged in profound discussions on cutting-edge topics including AI and quantum technology, foundational mathematics, and materials innovation during the keynote forum, offering world-class academic perspectives.
Concurrently, the forum's international network expanded further, with 180 attendees from over 20 countries participating in exchanges. This included representatives from scientific institutions across multiple Lancang-Mekong countries, officials from international organisations, and consular representatives in China. Through the addition of a‘Lancang-Mekong Science and Technology Cooperation Segment’and the launch of the‘Ten Major Science and Technology Cooperation Plans’—including the Lancang-Mekong Digital Cross-Border Flow Science and Technology Cooperation Plan—the forum is accelerating its transition from a distinctly Chinese initiative to one embodying global sharing. It is emerging as a vital bridge for deepening international scientific exchange and fostering dialogue among civilisations.
Notably, in 2025, the Tengchong Forum was included in the Action Plan Catalogue of the Ministerial Conference on Global Civilisation Dialogue, marking its formal entry onto the global stage for civilisational dialogue and signifying a qualitative leap in its international appeal and influence.
Focusing on AI's Core Value, New Awards and Future Vision Report Unveiled
Departing from the 2024 macro theme of‘Science and Technology Empowering High-Quality Development,’the 2025 forum centres on‘Science·AI Transforming the World,’deeply exploring AI's dual value as both a‘research paradigm’and an‘empowering engine.’
The forum comprises one keynote session, ten parallel forums, and over ten supporting events. Parallel forums cover specialised domains including‘AI and Digital Security,’ ‘Embodied Intelligent Robotics,’ ‘AI+Biomedicine,’and‘Quantum Computing and AI Convergence.’Interactive segments such as‘Face-to-Face with Academicians’and‘Technology Roadshows’continue to facilitate precise alignment between academic achievements and industrial needs, while igniting aspirations for scientific contributions to the nation among young minds.
The inaugural Young Scientist Award will be presented to perpetuate the flame of innovation. Alongside the Tengchong Science Prize, which continues from the previous two forums, the 2025 Tengchong Forum will debut the‘Tengchong Young Scientist Award.’This accolade honours outstanding young researchers under 40 who have achieved remarkable scientific accomplishments in fundamental research and technological innovation, demonstrating exceptional innovative potential. The inaugural awards spanned ten disciplines including mathematical physics, materials science, and life sciences, recognising nine laureates and nine honourable mentions. This initiative injects youthful dynamism into scientific innovation while fostering dual-track development in research succession and talent cultivation.
The forum unveiled the Science and Technology Foresight and Future Vision 2049 report, guiding global technological decision-making. As a major highlight of this year's forum, the report—compiled under the leadership of Academician Yang Yuliang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with leading experts from institutions including Huawei Strategy Research Institute and Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Institute—was released for the first time.
This marks China's first systematic forecast of future technological prospects, creatively proposing‘Ten Technological Visions’and‘Ten Future Scenarios’ –ranging from‘Artificial Intelligence Transcending the Singularity Towards ASI (Artificial Superintelligence)’and‘Commercialisation of Controlled Nuclear Fusion’to‘Extending Human Habitable Spaces into Space and the Deep Sea’.
The report not only paints a comprehensive panorama of a human-machine symbiotic intelligent society by 2049 but also offers forward-looking insights on‘technology for all’and‘technology for good.’It provides Chinese wisdom for global technological decision-making and promotes the transformation of scientific achievements into global public goods.
Deep integration of government, industry, academia and research empowers the development of new productive forces in Yunnan
The signed projects span emerging sectors, achieving dual enhancements in both investment scale and quality. Previously, the Tengchong Scientists Forum had successfully convened three editions. By the end of 2024, the forum had cumulatively facilitated 496 talent recruitment projects and 780 investment attraction projects, with agreed investments totalling 190 billion yuan.
The 2025 Tengchong Scientists Forum established a new‘technology + finance + industry’tripartite mechanism, culminating in 81 key signed projects for investment attraction and achievement transformation. The total agreed investment reached 66.338 billion yuan, injecting fresh momentum into Yunnan's industrial transformation, upgrading, and high-quality development.
Among these, 30 representative investment and cooperation projects in traditional industrial transformation, strategic emerging sectors, and future industries were successfully signed, with a total investment value of RMB 14.694 billion–representing a 41.28% increase over 2024.
The 2025 Tengchong Scientists Forum Investment Conference attracted over 300 corporate executives, including representatives from nine Fortune Global 500 and China 500 enterprises. Industry leaders, renowned companies, and technology-driven firms constituted 61% of attendees.
Significant case studies demonstrate tangible outcomes, bridging the gap between research and industry. Yunnan Hongsheng Platinum Industry collaborated with Professor Duan Yonghua's team from Kunming University of Science and Technology through the forum, overcoming core technological challenges in electrolytic hydrogen production using nano-iridium oxide catalysts. Achieving kilogram-scale production, the venture generated an output value of 460 million yuan in 2024 and was recognised as a National Specialised, Refined, Distinctive and Innovative Enterprise. Kunming's‘Jueyan’immersive Yunnan cultural space leveraged the forum to introduce AR stage technology and luminescent materials teams, creating a six-sense integrated cultural tourism experience that has become a new emblem for‘a way of life called Yunnan’.
Now, the forum has established an innovation conversion ecosystem centred on‘demand orientation, platform support, financial assistance, and industrial implementation’. This enables scientific achievements from laboratories to truly emerge from the ivory tower, transforming into new productive forces that empower enterprises and benefit the public.
As Academician Gu Binglin, Chairman of the Tengchong Scientists Forum, remarked:‘The forum began in Tengchong, but its ambitions reach for the stars; it started with science and technology, but its purpose lies in industry.’Moving forward, this platform will continue to propel scientific ideas into tangible forces that reshape the world.
From inception to excellence. Since 2022, the Tengchong Scientists Forum has strided forward with increasing influence, accelerating its journey towards becoming a‘Davos of Science and Technology.’
This premier scientific gathering, anchored in Tengchong, rooted in Yunnan, and connected globally, will profoundly inherit the‘resolute and outstanding’spirit of the Southwest Associated University. It will continue to fuel China's journey towards becoming a science and technology powerhouse, contributing more Chinese solutions and strength to human progress.
