To deepen cooperation between China and CEE countries in the field of scientific and technological innovation, and to systematically plan the construction and development of the China–CEEC Innovation Cooperation Research Center during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the Symposium on the Construction of the China–CEEC Innovation Cooperation Research Center during the 15th Five-Year Plan was held in Beijing on January 28^th. Wang Xiao, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology; Fei Xiaochun, Director and Party Leadership Group Secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology; and Shao Qianjun, President of Ningbo University of Technology, attended the meeting and delivered remarks. The meeting was chaired by Chen Shanfu, Deputy Director and Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology.

At the symposium, Wang Bo, Executive Director of the Research Center, reported on the progress and achievements of the Research Center’s development, as well as its development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Experts attending the meeting—including Fang Xin, Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Association of Science of Science and S&T Policy Research; Hu Zhijian, Chairman of the Chinese Association of Science of Science and S&T Policy Research; Wang Zhuohao, Chief Engineer of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China; Yang Yun, Deputy Chief Evaluator of the National Center for Science&Technology Evaluation under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST); Yan Xiaohong, Deputy Director of the China International Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Execution Center; Wei Min, Research Fellow at the China Institute of International Studies; and Zhang Li, former Vice President of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations—shared insights and perspectives. They discussed opportunities and challenges for scientific and technological innovation cooperation with CEE countries under the current international landscape, as well as the development ideas and goals for the Research Center during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Focusing on issues such as the strategic positioning of the Research Center, the building of core competitiveness, and better support for national strategies and local development, they put forward forward-looking and practical views and recommendations. Relevant departments of the Ministry of Science and Technology also dispatched representatives to attend the meeting and put forward related suggestions.

Wang Xiao expressed her appreciation to the experts for their long-term support for the development of the Research Center and affirmed the achievements it has made to date. She noted that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the Research Center should closely align with major national strategies and the needs of science and technology diplomacy, strengthen top-level design, focus on strategic research, enhance team building, and form core competitiveness, while also being capable of providing innovation cooperation services to promote local economic development. She expressed the hope that the experts would continue to offer advice and support to help the Research Center achieve high-quality development. She also called on the Research Center to carefully study and incorporate the experts’ suggestions, improve its planning program, and promote more fruitful outcomes in innovation cooperation between China and CEE countries.