BEIJING: China’s unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and expanding opening up has not only propelled its domestic industries forward but also made significant contributions to global socioeconomic progress, noted international academicians and industry experts at a key forum.
As the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) Annual Conference opened on Thursday, Beijing once again captured global attention by showcasing cutting-edge sci-tech breakthroughs and hosting lively discussions among the world’s leading scientists and tech innovators about cooperation opportunities arising from these advances.
During the conference, scholars and experts cast a vote of confidence in ZGC, China’s “Silicon Valley” and other innovation centers across the country as they continue to see tech companies across artificial intelligence (AI), digital platform and other sectors emerge at the frontier of global high-tech industry.
As China’s AI technology achieves groundbreaking advancements on the global stage, leading big model companies like Zhipu AI and Kimi emerging from ZGC have showcased the nation’s cutting-edge scientific efforts, said World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Daren Tang.
Tang also emphasized China’s significant potential to shape the future innovation ecosystem by bridging industrial and digital advancements, citing its animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” and the video game “Black Myth: Wukong.” These are prime examples of how the country is merging its rich cultural heritage with cutting-edge technology, and telling stories to audiences through new digital platforms, he said.
As the country continues to implement an innovation-driven development strategy, it has also achieved major breakthroughs in fields such as quantum technology, life sciences and space science. Official data shows that China’s research and development (R&D) expenditure reached 3.6 trillion yuan (about 502 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024. Last year, the country rose to the 11th position in the Global Innovation Index rankings.
The confidence in China’s innovation system is translating into concrete foreign investments. British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca signed a landmark agreement earlier this month to invest 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in Beijing over the next five years, demonstrating confidence in the capital’s world-class life sciences innovation ecosystem.
This week, medical tech firm Medtronic launched a digital healthcare innovation base at BioPark in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA) — its first in China. To date, nearly 5,000 medical and healthcare companies have gathered in the BDA, including multinational pharmaceutical giants such as Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Bayer, AstraZeneca and Medtronic.
Acknowledging the rapid development of China’s scientific infrastructure in the thriving research ecosystem in Beijing, Gerard Mourou, 2018 Nobel Laureate in Physics, said he was working closely with multiple research institutions in China on key research projects such as laser applications in the field of energy and medical services.
Chen Jiachang, vice minister of science and technology, said Friday that China will continue to promote open science cooperation and development, suggesting measures such as cultivating a policy environment conducive to international scientific exchanges and cooperation, while advancing the opening up and sharing of research infrastructure for more efficient utilization of scientific data and resources.
“China has been consistent with its opening up policies in high-tech sectors,” said Kim Jong-moon, director at Korean Innovation Center in China. He emphasized the ongoing improvements to the foreign investment ecosystem, including support for manufacturing and research operations.
Commenting on Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong’s recent tour of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers including Xiaomi and BYD, he said this indicates potential for deepened supply chain cooperation between China and the Republic of Korea.
Themed “New Quality Productive Forces and Global Technology Cooperation,” this year’s annual conference of the forum will conclude on March 31.
