The 2023 China-Africa Innovation Cooperation and Development Forum and Hubei International Technology Exchange Conference, jointly organized by Ministry of Science and Technology(MOST) and the Hubei Provincial People‘s Government, opened in Wuhan, Hubei, on July 6, 2023. The forum, with the theme of“Leading Development with Innovation, Sharing Opportunities Through Cooperation”, aims to build an open and cooperative network of innovation with Africa and develop a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. Vice Minister Zhang Guangjun addressed the opening ceremony. Wang Zhonglin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee and Governor of Hubei Province; and Zhang Yaping, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the event.

　　Zhang Guangjun said MOST has been implementing important instructions of President Xi Jinping, deepening China-Africa cooperation on scientific and technological innovation, and sharing technological achievements and innovation-driven development experiences with African countries. These efforts will help promote economic and social development in African nations and achieve significant progress. MOST will take this forum as an opportunity to further strengthen strategic guidance, consolidate consensus on innovation cooperation with African countries, enhance cultural exchanges, expand friendship with the science & technology community in Africa, build cooperation platforms, and elevate the level of research cooperation. The cooperation will be dedicated to common development and commercialization of innovation outcomes, aiming to build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.

　　Several parallel sessions were held at the forum, including the keynote forum, the“Belt and Road”Science and Technology Express (Africa Session), the release and promotion meeting of advanced and applicable technologies for China-Africa innovation cooperation, and the China-Africa Digital Innovation Cooperation and Development Forum. 20 China-Africa sci-tech cooperation projects were signed at the opening ceremony, and ministerial and provincial leaders as well as foreign guests jointly kicked off the 2023 China-Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Yasser Refaat, Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Higher Education for Scientific Research Affairs; David Ernest Silinde, Tanzania‘s Deputy Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, as well as ambassadors of Tanzania, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, and Lesotho, as well as representatives from the African Union’s mission in China, and officials from China‘s National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, along with domestic and foreign academicians, experts, and corporate representatives, as well as African students in China, attend these sessions.