On the morning of November 26th, Italian time, the 13th China-Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week, jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research, and co-organized by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Science and Technology and Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park, the Science City of Naples in Italy and the Italian National Research Council, opened in Naples, Italy. Yin Hejun, Chinese minister of Science and Technology, and Anna Maria Bernini, Italy's minister of universities and research, jointly attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. 

Themed "The Value of Science and Technology in Addressing the Great Challenges of Our Time," the event has the main venue in Naples and the sub-venue in Venice. A number of activities are held, including the opening ceremony and the signing ceremony of important China-Italy projects, the ministerial-level bilateral meeting, seven parallel forums, "one-on-one" matchmaking meetings for science and technology innovation entities, as well as visit and inspection activities.

The opening ceremony of the 13th China-Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week

This year marks the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's passing and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Italy Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. President Xi Jinping has met with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Melloni, and bilateral exchanges have been growing closer. Against this backdrop, the high-level organization of this year's event is of great significance for promoting China-Italy cooperation to a new level.

At the opening ceremony, Yin Hejun stated that China and Italy have a long-standing friendship. In recent years, the heads of state of the two countries have made frequent exchange visits, which has elevated the relationship between the two countries to a new level. The two sides should implement the consensus reached at the meetings between the two heads of state and the Action Plan between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Italy on Strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2024-2027), strengthen the complementarity of their respective advantages, promote mutual benefit and win-win results, and jointly contribute to the economic and social development of China and Italy, the enhancement of the well-being of human civilization, and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun delivered an address at the 13th China-Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week

Bernini said that the event has become a flagship activity in China-Italy bilateral cooperation, which is a concentrated reflection of the achievements in scientific and technological innovation cooperation between the two countries. Cooperation in science, technology and innovation has been an important driving force for the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. The two sides should leverage their respective strengths, strengthen communication and sharing, and jointly tackle global challenges.

Anna Maria Bernini, Italy's minister of universities and research delivered an address at the 13th China-Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week

Riccardo Villari, President of Italian Science City Foundation, Gaetano Manfredi, Mayor of Naples, and Zhang Yulei, Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Science and Technology and Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park, delivered speeches on behalf of the organisers.

Zhang Yulei, Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Science and Technology and Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park, delivered an address at the 13th China-Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week.

During the event, approximately 500 representatives from China and Italy attended the meeting on-site, and 61 Chinese and Italian experts delivered special reports, among whom 10 report-giving guests were from Beijing. The guests engaged in in-depth exchanges, shared research experiences, and sparked ideas in fields such as advanced manufacturing, polar science, marine science, art and cultural heritage, food production and processing systems, climate change and biodiversity, as well as disaster risk prevention and control. At the opening ceremony, seven major scientific and technological cooperation achievements were signed, five of which were from Beijing. Moreover, more than 180 representatives of Chinese universities, research institutes, and scientific and technological enterprises carried out one-on-one docking negotiations with the Italian side and engaged in practical cooperation.

Representatives of Chinese and Italian organisations exchanged signing documents

Since its inception in 2010, China-Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week has been successfully organized twelve times in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Nanjing in China, and in Rome, Milan, Naples, Bergamo and other Italian cities. Nearly 10,000 Chinese and Italian representatives have participated in this event, and a total of over 6,200 technology-matchmaking projects have been completed.

As a crucial bridge for the scientific and technological innovation cooperation between China and Italy, China-Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week has further strengthened the scientific and technological exchanges between the two countries. It has promoted the innovation and technology transfer cooperation among enterprises of both sides, cultivated exchanges and cooperation between research institutions, universities and enterprises, and offered a high-quality exchange platform for the Chinese and Italian governments, as well as enterprises and research institutions. In general, it has become one of the most significant channels for connecting scientific and technological innovation resources between China and Italy.

(The context is translated from the official WeChat account of Beijing International Science and Techonology Innovation Center)