Bai Chunli says cooperation on science and technology is key to global development

Bai Chunli, chairman of ANSO and president of the Greater Bay Area Science Forum, delivered a keynote speech at the sub-forum on "Technological Competition and Cooperation", Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 on March 29. He is also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former president of CAS.

Participants discuss technological competition and cooperation during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, Hainan province, on March 29. [Photo/boaoforum.org]

Bai pointed out that the pace of scientific and technological innovation is accelerating. How to strengthen international scientific and technological cooperation is a common concern of all sectors of society. The challenges, such as climate change and ecological security, require global cooperation. As the frontier of science and technology continues to deepen, it requires interdisciplinary cooperation of all countries.

Bai said many major scientific research infrastructures require the joint participation of the whole world, such as large-scale colliders, European observatories, and the collider in Geneva. In that case, there is a greater need for scientific cooperation to promote the common development of mankind.

Bai Chunli, chairman of ANSO and president of the Greater Bay Area Science Forum, makes a speech at the "Technological Competition and Cooperation" sub-forum, Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 on March 29. [Photo/boaoforum.org]

As chairman, Bai said ANSO was committed to scientific and technological cooperation and exchanges with countries along the BRI, and hopes to solve the common challenges faced by countries along the BRI.

In the face of the huge challenge of the global COVID-19, ANSO carried out the international cooperation of COVID-19 vaccine with the scientific academies of partner countries. It focused on promoting the phase III clinical trial of the COVID-19 recombinant protein vaccine of the Chinese Academy of Sciences overseas.

At the same time, ANSO initiated the Greater Bay Area Science Forum, aiming to establish a high-level platform based on the Greater Bay Area, coordinate with Hong Kong and Macao to jointly discuss and share global scientific cooperation.

Bai said that in the past decade, China witnessed the emergence of scientific and technological achievements and the continuous improvement, which is inseparable from the efforts of the scientific and technological community.

He said that in the face of the urgent problems that the country needs to solve, efforts should be organized with the understanding of national policies, including how to guide capital investment and how to provide a fair competition environment.

Bai also shared his view on ChatGPT. He said that the development of ChatGPT represents a new stage in the development of artificial intelligence. One of the most profound impacts of the new generation of AI represented by ChatGPT on scientific research is its ability to predict protein structures.

In his view, how protein structures are formed is a problem that many scientists need to solve. Currently, AI can predict protein structures such as viruses and bacteria, which will play a very important role in medicine research and basic scientific research. Similar situations will also play a role in materials science, catalysts, and other fields.

In addition to enterprise investment, the development of artificial intelligence in the future requires national policy support, as well as the improvement of scientists' innovation ability.

The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 runs from Mar 28 to 31 in Hainan province, with the theme being "An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development Amid Challenges".