CAE President Zhou Ji Attended Serial Events Dedicated to Combining Efforts of Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes in Guangdong Province

Chinese Academy of Engineering and Guangdong Provincial People s Government signed an agreement promoting the integration of Industry, Academic Studies and Scientific Research on a full scale on July 26, 2010. Mr. Wang Yang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Guangdong Provincial Party Committee Secretary, Mr. Wan Gang, Vice Chairperson of the CPPCC National Committee, and Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Zhou Ji, President of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Mr. Huang Huahua, Guangdong Provincial Governor, together with other officials of Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) were present at the signing ceremony. Mr. Wu Hequan, Former Vice President of CAE, and Mr. Song Hai, Deputy Governor of GuangdongProvince, signed the agreement.

CAE President Zhou Ji said that the Academy had always cared about and been supportive of the scientific and technological innovation in Guangdong, which can be shown in quite a few agreements signed with certain cities and districts, along with organizations such as Academician Working Stations and Consultation Centers set up in GuangdongProvince. Besides, Zhou said, lots of CAE Members had actively participated in scientific and technological innovation activities in Guangdong, and helped to strengthen the collaboration with institutions of higher learning, research institutes and enterprises effectively through various ways, making great contribution to Guangdong s economic and social development. And the agreement signed this time well displays CAE s determination and efforts in implementing what has been advocated in the address given by Chinese President Hu Jintao in the General Assembly held in early June this year. It s also a demonstration of an important measure CAE has taken in response to the Outline of Pearl River Delta Area Reformation and Development (2008-2020) approved by the State Council (China s cabinet). Zhou said CAE would spare no efforts to implement all the articles stated in the newly-signed agreement and participate actively in building up Guangdong s innovation system, letting scientific and technological innovation play its key and leading role in accelerating the transformation of the economic development mode and promoting sound and rapid economic and social development in China.

Prior to the signing ceremony, Secretary Wang Yang met with Minister Wan Gang, CAE President Zhou Ji and other leaders present, thinking highly of the joint efforts of different departments in combing efforts of Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes.

On July 27, CAE President Zhou attended the summarization convention of the Fifth Anniversary of the Province-Ministry Industry-University-Research Integration in Guangdong Province, in which Zhou delivered a speech.

Zhou said in the speech that CAE s now conscientiously studying and implementing what had been said and advocated in Secretary General Hu s address in the General Assembly for CAE and CAS. In Hu s speech, first and foremost, he placed emphasis on the importance and urgency of accelerating the transformation of the mode of economic development. In the second place, Hu illustrated the core role that science and technology played in speeding up the transformation of the economic development mode. Thirdly, Hu called on both CAE and CAS Members, as well as other scientists and engineers all over the nation, to shoulder responsibilities and make contributions for this significant transformation. At present, China is undergoing an essential phase of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, with many deep-seated contradictions and problems getting increasingly acute, and it is quite safe to say that traditional mode of development proved to be not in the least sustainable. Therefore, it is extraordinarily urgent to accelerate the transformation of the economic development pattern, which can be actually regarded as a mission of strategic importance for the construction of modernization of China. GuangdongProvince has always been the pioneer for the implementation of reform and opening up policy, being extremely sensitive to the external as well as internal changes. That is why Guangdong is facing a severe challenge in the economic transition period. As a result, we should conduct in-depth study of Secretary General Hu s speech, being fully aware of the importance and urgency of the acceleration of the transformation, the leading and vital role science and technology can play while speeding up the transformation and the important historic mission we scientists and engineers should undertake in this process.

President Zhou also claimed that, science and technology, as the primary productive force, as well as the most active and revolutionary element, will be playing a special and essential role in the social and economic development. Meanwhile, the acceleration of the transformation of economic development pattern also offers urgent and huge demands for specific scientific and technological innovation. Above all, demand is the most powerful driving force. At the same time, the inter-connection of scientific and technological framework is also facing a breakthrough, and we have reason to believe that scientific and technological revolution will trigger and push forward another round of industrial revolution, of which comrades in Guangdong have the most profound understanding. These years, Guangdong has been taking the lead among all the cities in China in accelerating the transformation of economic development mode, and has gained lots of extremely valuable experience of success. We re, therefore, fully convicted that Guangdong will make even greater achievements on the way of scientific development.

Zhou also recalled that, in December, 2008, thirty years after China launched its reform and open-up policy, the State Council approved the Outline of the Pearl River Delta Area Reformation and Development , which further specifies the Five First guiding principles that Pearl River Delta needs to follow. The Outline emphasizes on the improvement of the system, mechanism and policy environment of innovation, aiming at building up an open and regional innovative system, with enterprises being the main body and market being the orientation, with efforts of Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes combined. The Outline also states that the Pearl River Delta should endeavor to become the first in China to establish the national innovative region, helping to improve the international competitiveness in a comprehensive manner. All of the above from the Outline can well serve as a guiding principle for us to further intensify the integration of Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes between Provinces and Ministries.

Zhou also encouraged more attention and efforts directed to building up a system, which could combines efforts of Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes in a even closer manner, with enterprises as its main body and market as its orientation. Zhou explained the reasons as follows. In the first place, Enterprises are economic organizations which produce wealth and earn profits. They are the carriers for actual productivity, and the main body for technical innovation as well. In the second place, Universities and Research Institutes harbor huge innovation capability, which could only be developed through practice and contribution, with service providing as the goal. Therefore, we should integrate the development of universities and research institutes into the glorious modernization construction of China, with enterprises as the main body and the efforts of the trinity, namely, Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes, closely joined. In this way, various technical innovation elements can be brought into industrial innovation, thus making it easier for scientific and technological achievements to be transferred, commercialized and industrialized, which can help to promote the development of productivity in a more desirable manner. The accomplishments, achieved through collaboration among Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes between Guangdong Province and certain Ministries in the past five years, vividly displayed the remarkable vitality and tremendous power of doing so. The combined efforts of the trinity can help to optimize the allocation of innovative elements and build up a technological innovation system, demonstrating, in the true sense, the facts that science and technology constitutes the primary productive force, and is a great driving force to boost the economic development. Consequently, Zhou said, more attention should be drawn to the implementation of the national policy about scientific and technological innovation put forward by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, realizing the sound and fast development of enterprises featuring technological innovation, thus improving the international competitiveness of our nation in an overall manner.

Zhou promised, in his speech that CAE would play an active role in the future, in order to help promote the cooperation and integration of Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes and accelerate the transformation of the mode of economic development. First and foremost, CAE could take advantage of its Members who specialize in largely diversified fields and offer consultation and evaluation service for major policies to be drawn up and major development strategies for high-tech industries to be determined in Guangdong s economic development. In this way, CAE could really help with the acceleration of the transformation of the economic development mode and promotion of Guangdong s economic and social development. Secondly, CAE would help with the scientific and technological innovation for enterprises and industries in GuangdongProvince, upgrading the industrial structure and propelling the development of strategic emerging industries. CAE would also encourage CAE Members, together with their research teams and universities or research institutes they work with, to participate actively in addressing the key technological problems, inspiring them to make their contributions for the development of GuangdongProvince. Last but not least, CAE would help to identify and train capable personnel, esp. innovative personnel with exceptional capability, making contributions in this particular way. To sum up, we are completely convinced that Guangdong will achieve even more in terms of the collaboration of Enterprises, Universities and Research Institutes, which will help to make contribution for the economic and social development of Guangdong, for the acceleration of the transformation of the economic growth pattern, for the establishment of an innovative nation, as well as for the socialist modernization of China. (By Wu Guokai and Yang Li, August 2010; translated by Liu Chang)