2025 Greater Bay Area Science Forum

The opening ceremony of the 2025 Greater Bay Area Science Forum was held in Guangzhou on December 7. Under the theme "Industry Research Integration Drives Smart Innovation in the GBA", the forum is set to forge an innovation ecosystem with extensive government-industry-academia-research-user collaboration while charting practical courses for the synergy between sci-tech innovation and industrial transformations.

Bai Chunli, Founding President of the Alliance of National and International Science Organizations for the Belt and Road Regions (ANSO), remarked that global sci-tech innovation is now at a pivotal juncture, poised to shape the future international competitive landscape. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) boasts an integrated institutional framework, a robust industrial system, and a premier opening-up hub, three advantages that lay a solid groundwork for undertaking national strategic sci-tech missions. To elevate sci-tech innovation capabilities to new heights, he put forward three initiatives: maintaining a systematic approach to basic research and strategic sci-tech forces, amplifying the collective efficacy of extensive industry-academia-research integration, and fostering open cooperation on a higher level. The Greater Bay Area Science Forum will continue to serve as a global gateway, facilitating the cross-border flow of innovation resources, spurring the translation and application of more groundbreaking achievements in the GBA, and cementing its status as a vital node in the global innovation network.

According to Bai Chunli, the GBA has surpassed an R&D investment intensity of 4.5% and drawn in 30% of China's top-tier talents, with the added value of strategic emerging industries contributing over 25% to GDP. The efficiency of cross-border innovation element flows has soared by 37%, and the regional collaborative innovation index has hit 189.6, underscoring its strategic significance as a national powerhouse for sci-tech innovation.

At the opening ceremony, 12 Hong Kong and Macao universities signed a joint initiative to engage further in developing the GBA as an international hub for sci-tech innovation. These universities are Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), University of Macau, Beijing Normal University - Hong Kong Baptist University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, City University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong (Dongguan), Macau University of Science and Technology, University of Hong Kong, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen). They vowed to collaborate in building a new paradigm of intensive sci-tech cooperation marked by innovative synergy, sharing, industrial empowerment, and shared talent, propelling the GBA to the forefront in establishing an open, innovative mindset with global competitiveness.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences unveiled progress on the systematic development of major scientific and technological infrastructure in Guangdong, and Guangzhou rolled out policies to propel the integrated advancement of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation.

Initiated by ANSO and co-hosted by the People's Government of Guangdong Province, the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, and the Government of the Macao SAR, this forum invited over 50 renowned Chinese and international scientists, as well as representatives from government, enterprise, business, and academic circles. They engaged in discussions and exchanges across key domains such as artificial intelligence, life sciences, green energy, network communications, and low-altitude economy, offering insights and strategies to position the GBA as a globally influential center for sci-tech innovation.

Source: 2025 Greater Bay Area Science Forum