2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference Highlights Deep Integration of Scientific and Technological Innovation and Industrial Innovation

(Source: China Environment Network)

Reposted from China Environment Network

The 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference will be held in Beijing from March 25 to 29. Today, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, inviting Vice Minister of Science and Technology Lin Xin and Beijing Municipal Standing Committee Member and Vice Mayor Jin Wei to attend and provide relevant information.

Since its founding in 2007, the Zhongguancun Forum has maintained the theme of “Innovation and Development,” adhering to the principles of open innovation and win-win cooperation. It has attracted increasing attention and participation from domestic and international guests and audiences, playing a positive role in promoting technological exchange and collaboration.

“The 2026 Zhongguancun Forum focuses on the construction of Beijing (Jing-Jin-Ji) International Science and Innovation Center. The three regions of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei will jointly host the Jing-Jin-Ji Collaborative Innovation and High-Quality Development Forum and the Technology Transfer Results Matchmaking Conference, release policies to deepen cooperation among the three areas, and jointly promote innovation collaboration and industrial cooperation in Jing-Jin-Ji. This includes advancing six key industrial chains and five industrial clusters,” Lin Xin said.

Currently, Jing-Jin-Ji collaborative innovation has a solid foundation. The three regions have jointly established a special fund for natural science research, with 270 projects planned and over 700 research teams collaborating. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to strengthen the Jing-Jin-Ji National Technology Innovation Center, implement disruptive technological innovation projects, and incubate 179 hard-tech enterprises.

“Industrial cooperation in Jing-Jin-Ji is becoming more focused. We have mapped out six key industry chains, including hydrogen energy and biomedicine, and have jointly built seven national-level advanced manufacturing clusters such as integrated circuits and artificial intelligence. The ‘one-hour auto parts supporting circle’ is accelerating, with the region’s new energy vehicle production reaching 1.084 million units in 2025, and an average annual growth rate of over 60% during the 14th Five-Year Plan period,” Jin Wei explained.

He added that Beijing will work with Tianjin and Hebei to enhance industrial development levels. This includes deepening the “AI+” initiative, leveraging Beijing’s resource advantages in artificial intelligence to empower the transformation and upgrading of industries such as steel, chemicals, and agriculture in Jing-Jin-Ji. The collaborative innovation projects will be further implemented to break through technological bottlenecks in industries like integrated circuits and healthcare, and to expand and strengthen strategic emerging industry clusters.

This year, the Zhongguancun Forum will also place greater emphasis on cultivating new productive forces. Focusing on key areas such as embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and high-end instruments, it will showcase major innovative achievements and promote the transformation of scientific and technological results into new productive forces. For example, the “AI + Industry” forum will focus on scenarios like autonomous driving and industry-specific large models, bringing together top scholars and leading enterprises to explore methods and pathways for AI to empower the real economy.

The Zhongguancun Forum remains an important platform supporting the construction of Beijing (Jing-Jin-Ji) International Science and Innovation Center. Currently, significant progress has been made in building the center, with increasing original innovation capacity, R&D investment intensity maintained above 6%, and basic research expenditure accounting for over 15%. The development is centered around Zhongguancun, with the Jing-Jin-Ji and Jing-Xiong corridors as the backbone, and Tianjin Binhai New Area, Xiong’an New Area in Hebei, and Shijiazhuang as key nodes, forming a collaborative innovation network of “one platform, two corridors, three hubs.”

“The Ministry of Science and Technology will also coordinate with other departments and local governments to increase policy support. Policies will be introduced around strategic scientific and technological strength building, major scientific infrastructure and platform deployment, major scientific tasks, and emerging and future industries. Support will be given to Jing-Jin-Ji in producing significant original results in fields such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, commercial aerospace, and hydrogen energy, and to cultivate world-class industry clusters,” Lin Xin stated.