On China's road to becoming an innovation powerhouse, the Pujiang Innovation Forum has been playing an important role.

The story began back in 2006 when China unveiled an ambitious plan to build an innovation-oriented country by 2020 and then establish itself as a world power in science and technology in the middle of the century.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping said: "Innovation is the soul driving a nation's progress and an inexhaustible source of a country's prosperity."

The plan emphasizes the value of self-reliance in science and technology.

Xu Guanhua, former Chinese minister of science and technology, found that independent innovation doesn't mean hiding in a shell. Rather, an open mind is of vital significance to fuel the country's transformation from "Made in China" to "Invented in China."

In this context, he envisioned an international forum as a way of building bridges between countries – on the one hand, make our voices heard on the world stage, and on the other, introduce more advanced ideas and facilitate more international cooperation.

Hence, the Pujiang Innovation Forum was established, and Shanghai, a pioneer of China's opening-up, is tasked with holding the forum.

The inaugural forum kicked off on May 18, 2008, under the theme "The Road to an Innovation-Oriented Country," attracting big names like Nobel laureate Yang Chen-ning to attend the meetings.

It delivered a message to the world that China is open and inclusive for international cooperation.

In further efforts, the forum initiated the mechanisms of Country of Honor and Province of Honor in 2012 to deepen regional and international cooperation in science and technology. Under these mechanisms, the Country of Honor and Province of Honor hold special events to introduce their achievements and hold in-depth discussions to seek partnership opportunities.

Steven W. Popper, senior economist at the RAND Corporation, said at the forum that there is a history of international cooperation in research and development, and its influence has been profound.

Germany was the first Country of Honor. During the forum, Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research and China's Ministry of Science and Technology concluded several partnership agreements.

"We firmly believe in cooperating with China, and our ties have been greatly strengthened over the past 30 years," a German representative said.

Over the years, Finland, Russia, Israel, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Portugal, Singapore, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates have also served as Country of Honor. This year the Netherlands assumes that role.

In 2015, during the forum, a China-Israel Innovation Hub was unveiled. The hub is based in Putuo District's Taopu Smart City at Hero World, the renovated former site of the Shanghai Hero Pen Factory, one of China's time-honored brands.

In 2016, during the forum, the Shanghai Innovation  (London) and Shanghai Technology Exchange (London) officially opened in London. Back in Shanghai, the Chinese Academy of Sciences joined hands with UK-based John Innes  to set up the CAS-JIC  of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science, which aims to bring together world-leading laboratories to support the global aspirations of food security and sustainable health care.

In 2018, Portugal established a partnership with China in renewable energy, biology, agriculture and new materials.

Additionally, the forum has witnessed the establishment of a think tank formed by "Belt and Road Initiative" countries. It now has seven members including China, Serbia, Thailand, Pakistan and Egypt.

Thanks to the forum, an international innovation community is taking shape in China, and international cooperation fruits are springing up.

Wang Zhigang, Chinese minister of science and technology, said at the 2020 forum that China had set up science and technology partnerships with 161 countries, signed 114 partnership agreements with foreign governments and joined more than 200 international organizations and multilateral mechanisms.

International partnerships contribute to China's growing status in the global innovation community. Last year, China ranked 12th in the Global Innovation Index, up 22 places in 10 years.

What's more, it reflects the idea that science is global, without borders, which is echoed by China's concept of building "a community with a shared future for all humankind." Joint efforts across the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic is a good example.

Lance Rodewald, a senior consultant at the Chinese  for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the forum that international cooperation is key to developing vaccines and pressing the restart button for the world.

Next, according to Wang, China will play a more active role in the global innovation network.

China stressed the importance of innovation in its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), with multiple strategic projects in fields such artificial intelligence, quantum information and integrated circuits at the top of the agenda.