MOST and the Chongqing municipal government convened the second ministerial-municipal consultation conference on June 9 of 2008 in Chongqing. Consensuses were reached on the following topics after full discussion: jointly building a new area in north Chongqing with hi-tech industry as a focus; promoting pilot projects on S&T finance; encouraging technical innovation in energy conservation and emissions reduction; stimulating balanced urban and rural developments in technical innovation; and building regional platforms for innovation.