On the morning of January 13, a delegation led by Zhang Jianguo, Member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the CPPCC National Committee, Vice Chairman of the China Association for International Exchange of Personnel, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and former Director of State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, paid a visit to the Shenzhen Center for International Exchange of Personnel for investigation and discussion. The meeting was presided over by Li Hai, Director of the Shenzhen Center for International Exchange of Personnel (SCIEP), and attended by relevant working personnel of the SCIEP.

At the symposium, Director Li Hai reported the development history of the SCIEP and preparation for the 18th Conference on International Exchange of Professionals. In addition, according to Li, the SCIEP is enhancing arrangement and resource integration of internal and external businesses and continuously strengthening its core competitiveness. Furthermore, while the SCIEP is making every effort to properly hold the Conference on International Exchange of Professionals, it will make full use of advantages of the CIEP platform, keep a foothold in Shenzhen, serve China and cover the globe, with a view to providing a variety of professional services including intellectual introduction and project match-making for sister provinces and cities.

Mr. Zhang Jianguo fully recognized the achievements of the SCIEP over the two years since its inception, and put forward several suggestions on the future development of the SCIEP in view of current domestic and foreign trends in science and technology innovation and personnel exchange. According to Zhang, with the continued escalation of US-China trade conflict, the lockout and suppression imposed by Western countries on science and technology innovation and high-level personnel introduction in China will become normal, and we will be faced with even more challenging external environment, which nevertheless will accelerate independent innovation in key areas. As a result, in order to maintain strategic focus, we should make preparation in many aspects. Firstly, we should adhere to the principle of “pooling and utilizing talents from around the globe” and devote more social resources to science and technology innovation, thus further releasing the vigor and creativity of science and technology talents; secondly, we should attach importance to original innovation, especially enhancing original research from “0” to “1”, thereby continuously creating and expanding new advantageous fields and generating more original outcomes; thirdly, we should intensify efforts in international intellectual introduction, deepen cooperation with big innovation powers such as UK, Japan, South Korea, Germany and France, as well as small key countries such as Israel, Netherlands and Ukraine, so as to form high-level open innovation landscape.

After the symposium, Mr. Zhang Jianguo inspected the working environment of the SCIEP, and amiably talked with foreign entrepreneurs at the Overseas Entrepreneurs Center.