The year 2026 marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the China-CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation. From September 9 to 11, the 2026 China-CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation was held successively in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province and Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Themed “A Decade of Innovation: Building the Future Together,” the conference was co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, with nearly 500 representatives from government departments, research institutions, universities, enterprises, and think tanks of China and CEEC in attendance.
On the morning of September 9, the opening ceremony was held in Ningbo. Zhang Guangjun, Vice Minister of Science and Technology of China; Vladimír Šimoňák, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of Slovakia; Wang Cheng, Deputy Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee; and He Zhongwei, Vice Governor of Zhejiang Province, attended and addressed the ceremony. At the opening ceremony, the 10-Year Report on China-CEEC Innovation Cooperation and the 2026 China (Cities)-CEEC Open Innovation Cooperation Index were officially released. Eleven industry-university-research cooperation projects and platform construction agreements were signed at a group signing ceremony, and the Second China-CEEC Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition was simultaneously launched.
On the afternoon of September 9, the China-CEEC Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology Innovation was convened. Ministerial-level representatives and diplomatic envoys in China from eight countries—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia—attended the meeting. The parties held in-depth exchanges on “Tapping New Opportunities for Cooperation in Key Areas, Deepening Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation.” The Chinese side proposed the China-CEEC Innovation Cooperation 2030 Vision, drawing a new blueprint for for China-CEEC science and technology innovation cooperation over the next decade.
During the conference, three thematic forums were also held: “Innovation in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Development,” “Biotechnology: Cross-Dimensional Industrial Leap,” and “Green Energy: Charting a Low-Carbon Future.” In addition, activities such as the Innovation Cooperation Think Tank Roundtable, the “CEEC Innovation China Tour,” and industry-university-research matchmaking sessions were organized. The parties conducted in-depth exchanges on topics including frontier science and technology development trends, the building of an open innovation ecosystem, and the precise matching of innovation outcomes with industrial needs, and reached consensus on multiple cooperation matters.
On the afternoon of September 11, the closing ceremony was held in Nanjing. Chen Guoyou, Special Representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry for China-CEEC Cooperation Affairs; Zhu Xuehua, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology; and Xu Guanghui, Director-General of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology, attended the ceremony. At the closing ceremony, on-site signing ceremonies were held for six cooperation projects, and representatives from China and ten CEEC countries jointly watered the “Tree of the Future,” symbolizing that innovation cooperation will flourish in the coming decade.
Since the inaugural conference in 2016, the China-CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation has become an important platform for the two sides to strengthen policy communication, exchange innovation concepts, and forge consensus on cooperation. This year’s conference reviewed the achievements of China-CEEC science and technology innovation cooperation, conducted multi-level exchanges on frontier science and technology innovation development trends, and drew a new blueprint for cooperation over the next decade. Standing at a new starting point, China will work with CEEC countries to uphold openness, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit, and advance China-CEEC science and technology innovation cooperation to a higher level.
Source: Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)