All eyes on the future as nation facing key environmental targets

Industries of the future, green development and healthcare have been passionately debated among experts and officials at a recent forum.

With the theme of "intelligence, health and carbon neutrality", the 2021 ZGC Forum organized a series of parallel forums, inviting industry insiders to share insights on the latest social and economic issues. This year's forum was held in Beijing on September 24-28.

"The future industries are revolutionary but have high uncertainty," said Shao Xinyu, vice-minister of science and technology, during the forum.

"From making a technological breakthrough in a laboratory to developing it for the market, the process requires coordination among scientists, businesspeople, capital investors and policymakers,"Shao said.

It also needs the support of an innovation ecosystem and relevant conditions to help plan the layout of future industries, from basic research and technological innovation to industrialization, he added.

As future industries have been put on the national agenda by the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), industries such as quantum information, artificial intelligence and semiconductor have been included in the outlines of provincial regions across the country.

"Innovation development is the only path for Beijing, as the city is relieving its noncapital functions and achieving high-quality development," said Xu Xinchao, deputy director of the Beijing Science and Technology Commission.

In the 14th Five-Year Plan, Beijing will boost future industries, focusing on areas including quantum computing, future networks and meta-materials, Xu said.

Tang Jie, a professor at Tsinghua University, said: "Beijing shares an advantage in talent. That provides the city with strong support in intelligence and creates sources for data and computing."

As a hot topic in 2021, carbon neutrality has caught the attention at home and abroad during the ZGC Forum.

"Peaking carbon-dioxide emissions is a scientific issue, which is based on the objective law of the development of things," said Xie Kechang, academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

In terms of China's goal to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, Xie said it is not an easy question of give or take but requires planning.

He called for the strengthening of basic research to provide a basis and help the country achieve its carbon-peaking and neutrality targets.

The country should follow the objective laws and guide emission reduction properly, and continue integrating energy and intelligent technology, he added.

Apart from future industries and carbon neutrality, this year's ZGC Forum held a series of healthcare-themed forums to discuss vaccines and life sciences, said organizers.