By Francesco Faiola

China's opening-up policy has played a crucial role in promoting international cooperation within the science and technology sector. Its growing openness in this field has significantly contributed to global progress.

The openness has enabled greater collaboration between Chinese scientists and their international counterparts, facilitating the exchange of ideas and the development of new technologies. Additionally, Chinese innovations in such areas as renewable energy and telecommunications have helped drive technological advancement around the world.

With a primary focus on promoting sci-tech innovation and advancements, China has been actively seeking to attract foreign sci-tech professionals.

In a bid to attract and retain foreign experts, the Chinese government has rolled out various policies and programs, including allocating funds for research projects, bolstering infrastructure investment, and offering competitive salaries and benefits packages. Additionally, the government is refining its institutions and mechanisms for the development of professionals, providing a stage for them to innovate and shine. Meanwhile, China has streamlined visa procedures and introduced support services, to provide more convenience for foreigners working and living in the country.

As a result of China's opening-up, Chinese companies have formed partnerships with their foreign counterparts and deepened collaborations on R&D projects. By opening up its markets and encouraging cultural exchanges, China has built stronger relationships with other countries, thereby becoming an increasingly important player on the world stage.

Based on my observation, China has gradually emerged as a global hub for open innovation, with Beijing being one of the most prominent cities for this type of innovation. In the past years, the Beijing municipal government has accelerated efforts to transform the city into an international innovation center. An emphasis has been placed on attracting and cultivating top-tier scientists, particularly those from the younger generation.

Action plans have also been implemented to secure the city's leading position in basic research and achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in major fields. The plans aimed to ensure that Beijing-based national laboratories operate at the highest standards and support new R&D institutes in their research endeavors.

Furthermore, Beijing has been continuously promoting business-led collaboration to bridge industries, universities, and research institutes,  by boosting the development of incubators for sci-tech startups, as well as motivating international technology organizations and foreign-funded R&D centers to open branches in Beijing.

These efforts aim to create an open innovation ecosystem with global competitiveness. For example, Beijing has made significant strides in the development of "science cities" and "demonstration areas", with Zhongguancun Science City experiencing rapid development, Huairou Science City intensifying its efforts to develop the Comprehensive National Science Center, and Beijing Future Science Park strengthening collaboration with enterprises and local universities. In addition, the Demonstration Area for Innovation-based Industrial Clusters has commercialized more than 270 research outcomes from the three science cities.

The city's commitment to increasing support for basic science research and promoting high-quality development of new R&D institutes will help usher in breakthroughs in core technologies.

The opening-up policy has brought many benefits to China and its partners, and it will likely continue to play an important role in the country's future growth and development.

(The author is an Italian professor at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

Source: Science and Technology Daily