Oct. 20, the 5th China-UK Innovation and Development Forum was held online under the theme of Post-pandemic China-UK Science and technology innovation Cooperation, which attracted more than 60 participants from universities and research institutes in UK and China.

The forum was jointly organized by Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development (CASTED), Technology and Management Centre for Development, University of Oxford (TMCD), Institutes of Science and Development of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASISD), and China-Britain Business Council (CBBC).

Prof. SUN Fuquan, CASTED vice-president, delivered the welcome remarks on behalf of Prof. HU Zhijian, CASTED president, and expressed the expectation for a fruitful discussion.

Prof. Diego Sanchez-Ancochea, head of Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, also acknowledged the challenges as well as the unique opportunities to create a new world for development in his opening remarks.

Mr. Mark Logan, vice chair of All Party Parliamentary China Working Group and Member of UK Science and Technology Selection Committee, said that he firmly believes that bilateral cooperation is more urgently needed than ever before considering the ongoing global pandemic.

Two sessions were arranged with the themes of the Common Challenges in Post-pandemic Era: The Role of STI and China-UK STI Cooperation: Cooperation Areas and Modes, which invited 11 keynote speeches covering a wide spectrum of topics, including green transformation, the carbon neutrality initiative, the future industries, the global value chain, S&T Innovation boundaries, challenges to international cooperation, etc.

Prof. WANG Yi, vice president of CASISD, is invited to deliver a keynote speech introducing the cooperation activities in climate change and stressing the importance of China-UK cooperation.

In the closing remarks, Prof. PAN Jiaofeng, CASISD president, highlighted that we may face more common problems for survival and development in the post-pandemic era, and there is a growing need for uniting forces worldwide to provide solutions and universal public products. We should work together to cope with the crisis on reshaping the global political landscape and the challenges of economic development. He also stressed the necessity to give full play to the role of the China-UK innovation strategy and policy research network.

In the framework of the forum, China-UK Innovation Strategy and Policy Research Network was set up in 2019 as an open platform for further promoting the bilateral cooperation, which is supported by more than 30 major research institutions and universities in China and UK, including University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang University, etc.