On April 12, 2018, the 2018 China-ASEAN Year of Innovation Opening Ceremony and China-ASEAN Forum of Innovation co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, and the ASEAN Secretariat was held in Beijing. The forum was co-organized by CASTED, CSTEC and other relevant institutions. Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang and science and technology ministers of ASEAN countries attended the opening ceremony. Vice Minister of Science and Technology Huang Wei presided over the ceremony.

President Hu Zhijian delivered a keynote speech titled “China’s STI Policy: Retrospect and Prospect” at the China-ASEAN Forum of Innovation held after the opening ceremony. In his speech, President Hu elaborated on the background and measures of China’s implementation of innovation-driven development strategy, and the requirements and plans for speeding up the building of an innovative country in the new era. Experts and scholars from various countries that are involved in the research of scientific and technological innovation policies, production-academic-research cooperation on innovation, and people-to-people exchange in science and technology also spoke at the forum.