The 2019 ZGC Forum was held at the Exhibition Center of ZGC National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone from October 16th to 18th. The opening ceremony and plenary session were held on the morning of October 17th. The forum was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Association for Science and Technology and the Beijing Municipal People's Government The forum is themed “Cutting-Edge Technology and Future Industries”, and invited scientists, entrepreneurs and investors from 50 countries and regions such as the United States, Canada, Germany, Britain, France, Israel, Australia, Japan to jointly discuss the future trend of global technology and the development opportunities of emerging industries.

Founded in 2007, the ZGC Forum has determined "innovation and development" as a permanent theme. Since its launching, it has continuously innovated concepts and forms to better serve national science and technology and economic development and global innovation and entrepreneurship. It has gradually developed into an important platform and brand activity for the communication and exchange between domestic and foreign scientific and technological circles and industries, which promotes international cooperation in innovation.

During the opening ceremony and plenary session, Edvard Moser, Laureate of 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine shared what he learned from his research in the field of brain GPS; Shing-Tung Yau, Laureate of Fields Medal & Professor of Harvard University explained the role of mathematics and basic science in applied science; Xue Qikun, Vice President of Tsinghua University & Dean of Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences talked about quantum science and future digital technology; Zhang Xiang, President of HKU introduced the optoelectronic science that breaks diffraction limit; Wang Xiaodong, Director of Beijing NIBS reviewed the process of basic life science research and new drug innovation from Zhongguancun; and Mordechai Sheves, Persident of Yeda R&D of Weizmann Institute of Science talked about “from universities to markets - the Israeli experience of innovation driving the transfer of scientific and technological achievements”.

After keynote speeches, Rao Yi, Dean of Beijing CIBR & President of Capital Medical University, Grant Philpot, Chairman Representative & COO of European Patent Office, James Demmel, Dean of College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in Berkeley Branch of California University, US, Yu Kai, Founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics, Wu Gansha, Co-founder, President and CEO of Uisee Technology, Chen Tianshi, Founder and CEO of Cambricon, Fu Yingbo, President of Megvii went on the stage together. They exchanged ideas and experiences around the forum topic and brought a wonderful brainstorming for the audience.

Compared to previous sessions, this year’s forum has been improved in all directions: the level specification was greatly promoted and the scale was expanded. The duration was extended to 3 days and more than 30 activities including forums, exhibitions and release were held; The scale of the participants was also greatly expanded compared with the previous sessions and the features were more distinctive.

Focus on hot issues and have distinctive features. The forum orients “Cutting Edge Technology and Future Industries”, strives to grasp the global innovation trend, keep abreast of innovation and entrepreneurship, jointly studies the future trend of global science and technology, grasps the opportunities for the development of emerging industries and makes efforts to foster new economy and driving force. The opening ceremony and plenary session, parallel forums and result release all designed around the topic. Except for the opening ceremony and plenary session, the relevant parallel forums were fully launched around hot topics such as 5G, AI, industrial Internet, brain science, core technology innovation, patient capital, intellectual property rights, etc. The exchange and collision of some new ideas and concepts on the forum will provide inspirations and help for all kinds of innovation and entrepreneurships.

Rich content and novel form. This forum adopts the new framework of “conference + exhibition + launch event”, which can be summarized as “1+18+1+1”. 1 opening ceremony and plenary session, 18 parallel forums, 1 Zhongguancun International Advanced Science and Technology Achievement Exhibition and 1 launch event of significant achievements are held in just three days. In the Zhongguancun International Advanced Science and Technology Achievement Exhibition, 167 items of scientific and technological achievements from Tsinghua University, Peking University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Microsoft, Intel, Siemens and other 116 units at home and abroad will be displayed. At the exhibition site, more than 70 companies will launch 100 new technologies and products, of which nearly a fifth comes from overseas. A number of major achievements in the construction of Beijing science and technology innovation center and the innovative development of Zhongguancun will also be released at the launch event on the afternoon of 18th. The main content of the release includes major innovation policies and demonstration projects, signing of major international innovation exchanges and cooperation, the improvement of high-quality innovation development and acceleration of the formation of major platforms with high-grade, precision and advanced economic structures.

High-end and diverse participants. The guests participating in the forum include representatives of international organizations such as the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the European Patent Office, Nobel laureates in physiology and medicine, and winners of the Fields Medal. According to incomplete statistics, during the 2019 ZGC Forum, dozens of well-known scientists, tens of investors, more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and tens of thousands of general public will participate in the forums and exhibitions. This Forum integrates the ideological content, the leading edge, the experience and the interaction to build an innovative ecology with elements gathering and interactive integration, and reflects the remarkable features of active innovation and entrepreneurship and favorable entrepreneurial ecology in Zhongguancun.

Higher International. To date more than 400 foreign guests from 50 countries and regions have confirmed their participation, among them, more than 120 experts will deliver speeches or attend the discuss. And a group of overseas talent delegations from the United States, Canada, Germany, Britain, France, Israel, Australia, Japan, South Africa and other countries will actively participate in the Forum. All the participants in the “International Training Course on Planning, Construction and Management of Incubators in Countries along the Route of ‘Belt and Road’” being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology will also take part in the relevant activities, providing vigorous support and adding rich colors to build a comprehensive, open and high-end international forum for global innovation and entrepreneurship.

The organization committee of ZGC Forum will continue to create new forms and gradually expand the functions. It is committed to building ZGC Forum into an international platform integrating communication, exhibition, release and trade, and an international forum which is comprehensive, open, high-end and facing global innovation and entrepreneurship.

The forum was undertaken by the Administrative Committee of Zhongguancun Science Park, the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, the Haidian District Government, Zhongguancun Development Group and the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology. World Intellectual Property Organization and Science/AAAS acted as the supporting parties of the forum. Bank Of Beijing, as the strategic partner of the forum greatly supported the forum.