2020 ZGC Forum was opened in Beijing on the morning of September 17. Cai Qi, Secretary of Municipal Party Committee, made a speech and announced the opening of the forum; Wang Zhigang, the Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology of PRC, made a video speech. The forum was attended by Bai Chunli, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huai Jinpeng, Secretary of Party Leadership Group, Standing Vice Chairman and the first Secretary of the Secretariat of China Association for Science and Technology, Chen Jining, vice secretary of municipal party committee and mayor, Li Wei, Director of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress, and Ji Lin, chairman of municipal CPPCC.

Cai Qi welcomed the online and offline guests who participated in the forum. He pointed out that the new round of scientific and industrial revolution in the world is quickly evolving. The epidemic has led to the strong rise of the digital economy and given birth to a large number of new industries, new business forms and new models. With intensive science and education resources and active innovation and entrepreneurship, ZGC Forum has become a global, comprehensive and open international high-end forum on science and technology innovation. At the China International Fair for Trade in Services held not long ago, the Central Government took a stand on Beijing’s construction of national service industry, enlargement and opening of a comprehensive demonstration zone, and establishment of a pilot free trade zone featuring scientific and technological innovation, opening-up of the service sector, and the digital economy. This move has created rare opportunities for high-quality development in Beijing. We should fully implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech to Beijing, continue to adhere to the strategy of innovation-driven development, and vigorously build a center of scientific and technological innovation with global influence.

Cai Qi stressed that we shall rely on the Zhongguancun Science Park and take the “Three Cities and One District” as the main platform to integrate and optimize the allocation of scientific and technological resources, and strengthen the education and training of innovative talents, so as to form more world-leading major original innovation achievements, and strive to build Beijing into a key force and an important engine of global innovation network. We shall actively promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements to boost the high-quality development of economic society. We shall enhance the combination of the efforts of enterprises, universities and research institutions, promote the precise docking between innovation chain and industry chain, vigorously develop 5G service, digital economy, AI, biological medicine and other emerging industries, accelerate deep integration of science and technology with medical treatment and health, urban management and environmental protection, and drive the research and development, test and market application of anti-epidemic medicines and vaccines. We shall continue to optimize innovation services and build a world-class innovation ecology. We shall deepen reform of the science and technology system, give full play to the role of Zhongguancun as a "test field" for reform, introduce more reforms and innovation measures in scientific and technological finance, scientific and technological services and other aspects, focus on key areas to promote the construction of application scenarios, and create a market-oriented, internationalized and legalized business environment. We shall continue to strengthen open cooperation, implement a strategy of international scientific and technological cooperation that is more open, inclusive, reciprocal and sharing-based, and carry out all-round, high-level and in-depth international innovation cooperation and sharing of achievements, so as to promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes at a higher level.

After the opening ceremony, leaders from relevant central government departments and municipal government went to China International Exhibition Center to visit the 23rd China Beijing International Science and Technology Industry Expo (Science and Technology Expo). As the exhibition section of ZGC Forum, Science and Technology Expo of this year focuses on the theme of "Cooperation innovation to jointly meet challenges" with centralized exhibition of the latest technologies. In addition, many "black technologies" allow the audience to experience the charm of technological innovation at short range. At the exhibition areas with themes such as Winter Olympics on science and technology, anti-epidemic science and technology, integrative development results of capital-based culture and technology, as well as Haidian, Chaoyang, Huairou and Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area, Cai Qi and the heads of the exhibitors exchanged with each other for the prospect of industrial development, inquired in detail about the development of new technologies and the construction of new application scenarios, and learned about the latest achievements on scientific and technological innovations such as intelligent manufacturing, biotechnology and new energy intelligent vehicles.

Gong Ke, Chairman of World Federation of Engineering Organizations, addressed the opening ceremony; Shi Dinghuan, chairman of the World Green Design Organization, and Wang Enge, Executive Vice President of the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics, attended the Expo; leaders from relevant departments of the Central Government and Beijing municipality including Gao Yan, Li Meng, Xiang Libin, Wang Chen, Cui Shuqiang, Yin Yong, Zhang Jiaming, Sui Zhenjiang, Yang Jinbai, and Jin Wei, secretary-general of the municipal government, participated in relevant activities respectively..