24th China Overseas Scholar Innovation Summit opens in Dalian with opening ceremony roundtable organized by CCG
June 29 , 2023
On June 29, 2023, the 24th China Overseas Scholar Innovation Summit opened at the Dalian International Conference Center. Xiong Maoping, a member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Gao Tao, Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province, also delivered a speech and announced the opening of the Innovation Summit. Tamas Hajba, Senior Advisor and Head of China Office at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), He Xian, former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and President of the China Talent Research Association, and Xu Yi, Deputy Director of the Torch Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, also delivered speeches. This year’s Innovation Summit was hosted by the Dalian Municipal People’s Government, while the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) organized an opening ceremony roundtable.
During the opening ceremony, Xiong Maoping, stated that this year’s Innovation Summit was the first to be held after the 20th CCP National Congress, emphasizing that alian has a solid industrial foundation, rich scientific and technological resources, and a pleasant ecological environment. Liaoning is also currently implementing a three-year action plan for comprehensive revitalization and its economic development has maintained good momentum and steady growth. With solid progress in high-quality development, expectations for Dalian continue to improve, making it a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. Xiong proposed using this year’s Innovation Summit as an opportunity to use the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s message on using a strategy of strengthening the country through talent development and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship with a focus on promoting industrial and technological innovation, and building a modern industrial system suited to Dalian and supported by the real economy.
Tamas Hajba, Senior Advisor and Head of the OECD China Office, pointed out in his speech that the world is currently undergoing a transformation, with both global economic downturn and regional tension that have had a negative impact on the world economy and global trade. In the face of these challenges, countries need to increase understanding and work together. He emphasized that innovation embodies the spirit of progress, cooperation, and global participation, reflecting the common aspirations of global entrepreneurs. This year’s Innovation Summit has attracted a wealth of international talent and provided an important platform for mutually beneficial cooperation, playing a significant role in promoting economic growth, facilitating local project cooperation, and contributing to global collaboration. Participants should engage in this Innovation Summit with an open mindset and broad vision, creating a future through innovative cooperation and entrepreneurial endeavors.
He Xian, former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and President of the China Talent Research Association, stated in his speech that the Innovation Summit has had a broad impact both domestically and internationally, playing an important role in the development of Dalian and attracting overseas scholars to return and contribute to the local community. He emphasized that it is necessary to effectively implement more open talent policies and suggested efforts in five areas, including encouraging talent to go abroad for studies, attracting more foreign students to study in China, formulating clearer immigration policies for technical talent, further improving and optimizing the current system for foreign experts, and strongly supporting domestic experts’ participation in various international academic exchange activities. In this process, they should free their minds, explore boldly, cooperate with each other, and make positive contributions to build a strong, modern socialist country in all aspects.
Xu Yi, Deputy Director of the Torch Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, pointed out in his speech that in recent years, the deep integration of innovation and entrepreneurship with economic and social development has played an important role in promoting the transformation of old and new driving forces, upgrading China’s economic structure, expanding employment, improving people’s livelihoods, and achieving social fairness and upward mobility. Innovation and entrepreneurship in China has improved and the social atmosphere for innovation and entrepreneurship has become stronger. He emphasized that this year’s Innovation Summit, with the theme of “Attracting Talent and Innovating the Future,” provides a platform for talent, projects, capital, and other forms of exchange and communication. It is an important part of encouraging local talent to return, land key projects, make capital allocation more efficient, and increase technological mobility.
After these speeches, Zhang Wei, Deputy Secretary-General and Senior Researcher of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), presided over a themed roundtable that focused on pursuing cutting-edge technology and innovations in talent development. Xiang Changle, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Dalian University of Technology, Tamas Hajba, and David Blair, Deputy Secretary-General of the Association of Global Talent Organizations (AGTO), participated in the roundtable discussion.
This year’s Innovation Summit included activities such as roadshows for national scientific and technological plans and provincial and ministerial cooperation events. It is was also linked with the province’s talent recruitment fair and integrated the Dalian University of Technology International Forum for Young Scholars. During the event, awards were presented to the “Most Promising Entrepreneurial Enterprise Created by Overseas Students in China in 2022” and the “Most Promising Enterprises of the Dalian Entrepreneurship Project”. Several roadshows, including the national scientific and technological plan achievement roadshow, a project roadshow for the most promising entrepreneurial enterprises of overseas students by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the “Chunhui Cup” project roadshow by the Ministry of Education, and the Overseas Students Serving the Country Action and the 2023 “Entrepreneurship Project” roadshow.
