The seminar on the construction of Hubei to a province with strong science and technology capacity was held in Wuhan on the afternoon of May 11, 2021. Li Xiaohong, President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and Zhou Ji, Honorary Chairman of the Governing Board of the CAE, attended the meeting. A total of 18 CAE Members, including Chen Zuoning (Vice President of the CAE), Zhong Zhihua, Deng Xiuxin, and Wang Chen, attended the meeting to discuss the promotion of constructing Hubei to a province with strong science and technology capacity. The seminar was chaired by Ying Yong.

At the seminar, Wang Zhonglin, Acting Governor of Hubei Province, introduced the economic and social development of Hubei Province and the construction status of a strong science and technology province. CAE Members Zhou Ji, Chen Zuoning, Zhong Zhihua, Deng Xiuxin, Wang Chen, Wu Hequan, He Kebin, Pan Yuan, Yu Shaohua, and Ma Ding put forward suggestions respectively on the high-quality development of manufacturing, the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, the new round of development of the automobile industry, the biological seed industry, the health industry and public health system construction, 5G+ industrial Internet, ecological civilization construction, big science strategy plan, construction of the world’s optical valley, strengthening scientific and technological research in the medical and health field, etc.

Li Xiaohong sincerely thanked Hubei for its strong support to the CAE. He said that, in last year, we jointly experienced the terrifying and major struggle against COVID-19. The people in Hubei were worthy of being heroic people, and Wuhan was worthy of being a heroic city. They had made great contributions to the prevention and control of the epidemic. CAE Members and experts in relevant fields actively devoted themselves to combating COVID-19 with science and technology, and forged a deep friendship with Hubei. The CAE would further implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remarks on scientific and technological innovation, deepen the traditional friendship with Hubei, and stand on a new starting point to continue a new chapter in the cooperation between the CAE and Hubei, and accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, gather high-quality talents and projects, and create high-quality products, models and brands of cooperation between the CAE and Hubei.

Ying Yong thanked the CAE and CAE Members for their long-term crucial contributions to Hubei’s economic and social development, and their support for Hubei’s fight against COVID-19 and its recovery. CAE Members are the strategic scientific and technological force for constructing Hubei to a province with strong science and technology capacity, and the innovation engine to promote the high-quality development of Hubei. We must thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remarks on scientific and technological innovation, give full play to Hubei’s comprehensive advantages in science and education, industry, and location, further deepen strategic cooperation with the CAE, jointly build a scientific and technological innovation platform, tackle key core technologies, and jointly promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and help Hubei to become a province with strong science and technology capacity.

CAE Members Li Deren, Liu Jingnan, Chen Huanchun, Li Jiancheng, Niu Xinqiang, Zhang Lianhua, Yang Chunhe, leaders of the Hubei Province including Erkenjiang Tulahong, Li Lecheng, and Xiao Juhua, Wuhan Mayor Cheng Yongwen, and Guo Shenglian, Chairman of Hubei Association for Science and Technology, attended the seminar.

(Wang Jingjing)