By He Yin, People’s Daily
In a striking display of technological prowess, the 2025 Zhongguancun (ZGC) Forum Annual Conference recently concluded in Beijing with a range of innovations, offering a glimpse into a future where innovation is not just anticipated, but realized.
The event, highlighted by an AI agent, an entirely seamless experience, and over 100 intelligent robotic “volunteers,” became a vivid showcase of China’s cutting-edge innovations, capturing the essence of “the future is now.”
The steadily growing technological sophistication of the conference reflects China’s ongoing breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation. Since its inception in 2007, the ZGC forum has grown into a pivotal platform for global technological exchanges and cooperation. This year’s theme, “New Quality Productive Forces and Global Technology Cooperation,” centered on discussions of emerging technologies such as AI large models, embodied intelligence, quantum technology, biomedicine, 6G, and brain-computer interfaces.
Among the conference’s key takeaways were the unveiling of China’s National Innovation Index Report 2024 and its top 10 scientific advances of 2024. These reports not only affirmed the country’s rapid technological evolution but also reinforced the forum’s status as a key bellwether for frontier technologies and future industries – underscoring its crucial role in bridging innovation with industrial ecosystems.
Technological innovation stands as a central pillar of developing new quality productive forces, spurring the growth of new industries, business models, and economic momentum. As this year’s conference illustrated, China’s ongoing innovation boom is cultivating a new wave of productive forces.
Among the highlights were the introduction of 100 new technologies and products, 100 international tech trade innovation projects, the launch of a smart service platform for tech commercialization, and the signing of 11 major cooperation agreements. These developments reflect China’s robust culture of innovation and its immense potential to drive the development of new quality productive forces.
China has been rapidly advancing its innovation-driven development strategy, with technological progress now contributing over 60 percent to its economic growth. Over the past decade, the country has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing innovative economies, becoming the first to secure 4 million valid invention patents.
It also leads the world with 26 science and technology clusters in the top 100, holding the top global ranking for two consecutive years. Furthermore, China remains the world’s largest patent filer, with international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty growing 0.9 percent year on year.
As foreign media have noted, a thriving ecosystem nurtures towering achievements, and China has long been nurturing such an environment. By linking technological breakthroughs with industrial application, China is driving new industrialization and sustaining the momentum of new quality productive forces, which in turn serves as a key engine for high-quality economic growth.
Amid a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, China is exploring models of win-win cooperation that encourage global technology sharing and universally beneficial progress. Notable examples include the open-source approach taken by Chinese AI pioneer DeepSeek and the commitment by Chinese new energy vehicle giant BYD to make its core technologies available to the entire industry. Such cases reflect China’s dedication to promoting both technological advancements and collaborative innovation on a global scale.
Beyond its borders, China is building a network of international partnerships. The country is developing the China-Japan-ROK Innovation Cooperation Center, working with Laos to jointly establish the China-Laos Artificial Intelligence Innovation Cooperation Center, and has signed a cooperation agreement on spaceflight of a Pakistani astronaut on Chinese space station. These efforts underscore China’s commitment to fostering shared technological progress that benefits the world at large.
At the 2025 ZGC Forum Annual Conference, open-source projects like the “Chang’an Chain” blockchain platform and Li Auto’s open-sourced Halo OS garnered global attention, reinforcing China’s role in cultivating an open, innovative ecosystem.
Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, expressed hope for closer and stronger collaboration with Zhongguancun, a major technology hub in China, emphasizing the need to inject continuous momentum into global development and prosperity.
The world can only unlock broader opportunities through openness and cooperation. As China accelerates its pursuit of greater technological self-reliance and strength, it remains committed to working alongside other nations to advance new quality productive forces, tackle global challenges, and promote mutually beneficial progress. By emphasizing openness and collaboration, China aims to ensure that the benefits of technological innovation reach all corners of the globe.
Photo shows an exterior view of the Zhongguancun International Innovation Center, venue for the 2025 Zhongguancun (ZGC) Forum Annual Conference in Beijing.
A journalist shakes hands with a robot at the 2025 Zhongguancun (ZGC) Forum Annual Conference in Beijing. (Photo by Chen Bin/People’s Daily)
