The First Working Conference on the “Strengthening APEC Think Tank Cooperation on STI Strategy to Enhance Recovery Featured with Innovation, Inclusion and Sustainability” Project co-organized by Shenzhen Center for International Exchange of Personnel was successfully held in Shenzhen on July 18, 2022.

Focusing on APEC think tank cooperation on STI strategy, the Conference was held online and offline, inviting over 30 industry experts and government representatives from APEC’s 9 member economies. Yang Xuemei, Chairman of the Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI) of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Director of Division of International Organizations and Multilateral Cooperation Affairs, Department of International Cooperation (Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs), Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China; Yao Weike, President of China Association for International Science and Technology Cooperation; and Li Huilai, Vice Director of Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, attended the Conference presided over by Zhang Zhang, Secretary-General of the International Technology Transfer Network (ITTN), and delivered speeches.

Under the guidance of the Department of International Cooperation (Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs), Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, and the APEC Secretariat, the “Strengthening APEC Think Tank Cooperation on STI Strategy to Enhance Recovery Featured with Innovation, Inclusion and Sustainability” Project successfully approved and initiated in 2021 was organized by China Association for International Science and Technology Cooperation and implemented by ITTN. Under the APEC PPSTI, the Project was officially deliberated by APEC’s 21 member economies, being jointly proposed by Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Republic of Korea, Chile and other economies, and planned to be implemented during 2022~2023, exploring the establishment of a long-term strategic think tank cooperation and exchange mechanism to serve the STI development and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region by fully mobilizing the government bodies of all economies, STI think tanks, those in the field of cutting-edge technology, high-quality resources from the STI supply and demand sides, etc. to reach consensus on cooperation and goal intention, so as to assist the APEC’s member economies in achieving sustainable and inclusive growth with STI as the core driving force.

Yang Xuemei said that the economies in Asia-Pacific had high expectations for the APEC cooperation framework and hoped to make efficient use of the high-quality think tank resources within the region. The overall goal of the Project was to establish a think tank or inter-think tank cooperation mechanism focusing on the APEC region and aiming at STI strategic decision-making. There would be three exchange activities during 2022~2023, including this Conference, and the research report on the establishment of think tanks in the Asia-Pacific region would be issued, with the purpose of contributing to the establishment of a normal high-efficiency coordination system between the regional STI think tanks and reaching a consensus on cooperation in assisting the regional economies with STI strategic decision-making.

The Team of the Project Organizer (PO) briefed the guests on work concepts and whole-process plans of the Project. Representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), China Science and Technology Exchange Center, ZGC Global High-level Think Tank Alliance, Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO), Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), Australian Academy of Science (AAS), International Centre for Innovations in Science, Technology and Education (ICISTE), National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), APEC Center for Technology Foresight (APEC-CTF), University of Malaya (UM), Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), Babraham Institute and other professional institutes had communication and discussion online centering on the STI strategy think tanks serving the Asia-Pacific region, STI prospects, the youth, the females and the MSMEs seizing the STI opportunities, etc.

After the Conference, the Project Team would initiate research on the establishment of think tanks in the APEC region and set about the preparations and invitations regarding the two subsequent workshops and exchange activities.