On September 25, 2017, Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Forum 2017 was held in Hong Kong. With the theme of “Collaborate, Complement, Co-Create”, the Forum was sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Innovation and Technology Bureau of Hong Kong, and organized by China Science and Technology Exchange Center (CSTEC) and the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong.

A total of more than 250 people attended the Forum, including Huang Wei, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Acting Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Huang Liuquan, Deputy Director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Tan Tieniu, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People‘s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Zhang Jie, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS), Gao Zimin, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Municipal Government, Wu Haiying, Secretary of the China Association for Science and Technology, He Minghong, Deputy Director of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Nicholas Yang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology of Hong Kong, representatives of relevant government departments, universities, research institutions, science parks, incubators, tech industries, innovative enterprises, financial and investment circles and tech services industries in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong.  

Aiming to promote the development of innovative science and technology (S&T) in Hong Kong and closely sticking to the theme of the current times and focusing on innovation-driven development, the Forum was divided into 3 parts: opening ceremony and conference, conference luncheon, and themed seminar. 

In his opening speech, Vice Minister Huang Wei remarked that the holding of the Forum coincided with the implementation of an innovation-driven development strategy in the Mainland and Hong Kong’s important stage of transformation and development 20 years after its return to the motherland, and that it was of special significance for guests from government, S&T and business circles in the Mainland and Hong Kong to gather together to pool wisdom and plan cooperation centering on the theme of “Collaborating, Complementing, Co-Creating”. He introduced China’s measures to implement an innovation-driven development strategy, reviewed the achievements of Mainland-Hong Kong cooperation in science, technology and innovation (STI), and said that MOST will push forward the STI cooperation with Hong Kong in the following 6 areas, namely, speeding up the building of comprehensive Mainland-Hong Kong cooperation platforms, supporting Hong Kong to set up STI centers in specialized fields in its advantageous areas, deepening and expanding the Mainland-Hong Kong cooperation in R&D innovation, promoting the coordinated STI development between the Mainland and Hong Kong, strengthening people-to-people exchanges, and creating a favorable STI atmosphere in Hong Kong.

With the theme of “Promoting Influential Research Cooperation, Encouraging Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Creating Benefit to Society” and focus on innovation and entrepreneurship by young people in the Mainland and Hong Kong, the Conference Luncheon promoted interaction between industry and business to create an atmosphere of innovation and technology in society. Representatives of the Innovation and Technology Bureau of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Torch Center of MOST delivered speeches. The Themed Seminar held in the afternoon had 2 themes: “S&T Policy and the Belt and Road Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation”, and “Building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop”. Themed discussions brought together representatives of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Department of Innovation and Development of MOST, the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, the Office of Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan Affairs of MOST, the Belt & Road Office of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the Department of Policies, Regulation and Supervision of MOST, HSBC Group, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of CAS and the Hong Kong Productivity Council.

In close relation to Hong Kong’s current important stage of transformation and development 20 years after its return to the motherland, Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Forum 2017 promoted Hong Kong’s prosperous and stable development by establishing a high-level exchange platform and releasing the messages of latest policies.