In celebration of the 25th anniversary of partnership, Beijing and Moscow convened the roundtable meeting on sci-tech innovation on December 8, featuring both online and offline arrangements and real-time interaction through a live broadcast on the internet.

Sergei Cheremin, Director of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity and International Relations of Moscow, Yin Fei, First-level Inspector of Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, Alexander Molotov, Director of the Education and Technology Bureau of Moscow, and Xu Xinchao, Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission, attended and addressed the meeting.

The purpose of this meeting was to promote the exchanges and matchmaking of major enterprises and key projects, enhance mutual understanding, and lay a solid foundation for future high-quality exchanges and cooperation in sci-tech innovation between the two cities.

Confronting the COVID-19 pandemic not yet fully under control, Sergey Cheryomin said that experts and scientific research institutions in Russia and China had made tremendous efforts previously in the pandemic prevention and control to enhance the wellbeing of the people in both countries and the global public health through in-depth exchanges and sharing of scientific and technological results. This meeting, he said, is expected to further coordinate and deepen mutual cooperation, especially in scientific and technological innovation, by leveraging on each other's advantages and expanding the scope of collaboration of the two sides.

Yin Fei, First-level Inspector of Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality addresses the roundtable. [Photo by Ding Shouliang]

Beijing and Moscow have shared 25 years of cooperation based on a partnership initiated in 1995. Yin Fei said that Moscow is an important sister city of Beijing. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the two cities have exchanged and shared measures and experience regarding pandemic control and treatment, recovery of tourism industry and resumption of work and production of small and medium-sized enterprises through letters, video conferences and other channels, and encouraged each other to curb the pandemic.

Yin said, sci-tech innovation institutions of the two cities have set up representative offices to promote sci-tech innovation, and engaged in diversified dialogues and competitions under the framework of the ZGC Forum. The roundtable is a manifestation of close cooperation in sci-tech innovation, and also an expectation for more pragmatic communication in the future.

Xu Xinchao, Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission, addresses the roundtable. [Photo by Ding Shouliang]

Xu Xinchao said that there is huge potential of cooperation in sci-tech innovation, as demonstrated by over 1,000 activities planned and implemented for the China-Russia Sci-tech Innovation Year thanks to the joint efforts in recent years. Mayors of Beijing and Moscow just inked the 2021-2023 Cooperation Plan between Beijing of the People's Republic of China and Moscow of the Russian Federation on December 7, a new milestone for further collaboration, to promote pragmatic cooperation in trade, investment, sci-tech innovation, education, urban planning, sports, public health, tourism, culture, media, etc. Beijing sincerely welcomes scientists, entrepreneurs and startup founders from Moscow for cooperation and exchanges, to boost communications between research institutions, universities and innovative enterprises of the two cities and to achieve more tangible results through bilateral cooperation in sci-tech innovation.

During the roundtable, a ceremony was held for the launch of the Russian division of the China-Russia youth innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity competition. Representatives from both sides shared experience and exchanged views on innovation cluster and science park development plan, administration of science parks, and outlook of cooperation in basic sciences.

The roundtable meeting is part of the celebration for the 25th anniversary of partnership between Beijing and Moscow. Online dialogues were held for the fields of trade, investment and transportation, in a bid to streamline the linkage of mutual interaction and key work by combining the development needs of the cities.