On the morning of September 9, the opening ceremony and plenary session of the China-CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation were held in Ningbo. Approximately 400 participants attended the event, including officials from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Science and Technology, and local governments, as well as representatives from science and technology authorities of Central and Eastern European countries, diplomats accredited to China, representatives from universities, research institutes, tech enterprises, technology service institutions, as well as experts, scholars, and young sci-tech talents from both China and Central and Eastern Europe.
The opening ceremony of the conference.
Photo provided by the correspondent.
The conference, themed “A Decade of Innovation, Building the Future Together,” was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic. It reviewed the decade-long journey of the China-CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation, released key cooperation outcomes and outlined the vision for future cooperation.
During the opening ceremony, the “2026 China (Cities)-CEEC Open Innovation Cooperation Index” and the “10-Year Report on China-CEEC Innovation Cooperation” were officially released. In addition, the Second China-CEEC Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition was launched, and 11 agreements on industry-academia-research collaboration and joint platform construction were signed.
On the afternoon September 9, the China-CEEC Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology Innovation will be held. High-level representatives from various countries will engage in in-depth discussions on exploring new opportunities for cooperation in key areas and deepening collaboration in scientific and technological innovation.
The signing ceremony. Photo provided by the correspondent.
The three-day event, held successively in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, and Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, featured a diverse lineup of activities, including the opening ceremony and plenary session, the China-CEEC Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology Innovation, thematic forums on artificial intelligence and robotics, biotechnology, and green energy, as well as initiatives such as the CEEC Innovation China Tour and Innovation Cooperation Think Tank Roundtable. These activities aim to foster multi-dimensional and multi-level exchanges focused on new trends in frontier scientific and technological innovation.
2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the China-CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation, which has grown into the highest-level and largest-scale event for collaboration in science and technology under the “China-CEEC Cooperation” framework. Since its inception in 2016, the conference has been successfully held five times in countries including China, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. It has played a crucial role in promoting policy dialogue, joint research, personnel exchanges, technological cooperation, and partnerships among academia, research institutions, and industry.
Source: Tide News