From November 18th to 19th, the "Technological Modernization and Innovation" Think Tank Forum and the ZGC Global High-level Think Tank Alliance Council Meeting was successfully held in Guiyang. The forum was hosted by the Guizhou Academy of Social Science, ZGC Global High-level Think Tank Alliance (hereinafter referred to as the "Think Tank Alliance")， General Office of Science and Technology of Guizhou Province, Big Data Development Administration Of Guizhou Province and Beijing Academy of Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as the Academy). One hundred and fifty people including experts from think tanks, as well as scholars and entrepreneur representatives from the council members of the Think Tank Alliance, universities and research institutes from China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Serbia and other countries attended the event. 

Wu Jianmin, President of Beijing Academy of Science and Technology and Council Chairman of the Think Tank Alliance, pointed out in his speech that science and technology are important parts of modernization, while scientific and technological progress is an important symbol of modernization development. In this context, it is of great practical significance to discuss some major issues of science and technology modernization and scientific and technological innovation. Beijing Academy of Science and Technology will continue to support the construction and development of science and technology modernization, encourage and promote international exchanges and cooperation between think tanks for science and technology, further insist on "Bringing science and technology into Guizhou Province", and contribute wisdom to Guizhou’s development as well as its economic, social, and scientific and technological innovation. The Think Tank Alliance remains committed to innovating cooperation mechanisms and cooperating with high-level think tanks at home and abroad, so as to serve local regional economic development, and work for the overall picture of the country's foreign exchanges. The Academy will insist on making every effort to provide intellectual support and services, so as to develop the outcomes achieved in the early stages such as strategic research, high-level forums and the gathering of global experts.

Wu Jianmin, on behalf of the Think Tank Alliance, awarded honour plaques to the new council vice chair Guizhou Academy of Social Science and 13 new council members. Huang Chaochun issued an excellent achievement certificate to the representative of the winning research group for 2023 Excellent Research Report on Guizhou’s Practice of National Governance Modernization. Li Junkai, Secretary-General of the Think Tank Alliance and Director of the Center for International and Regional Cooperation of the Academy, presided over the honour plaque award ceremony.

The meeting set up three parallel forums: ZGC Global High-level Think Tank Alliance Council Conference, "Science and Technology Innovation Entrepreneur Forum" and "Scholars Forum on National Governance Modernization. Experts and scholars at the meeting fully exchanged views on the content such as scientific and technological innovation, think tank construction, the development of the alliance, industrial transformation and upgrading, integration of industry and education, empowerment for the digital industry, and governance modernization.

At the meeting, Li Junkai, Secretary-General of the Think Tank Alliance, gave a report on the "2023 Annual Work Summary and 2024 Annual Work Plan of the Think Tank Alliance". She pointed out: the Think Tank Alliance has made progress in a phased manner in four aspects: refining branding campaigns to support the development of the "Belt and Road Initiative"; deepening collaborative innovation and enhancing the brand value of the Think Tank Alliance; integrating into the international network to increase its leverage and influence; expanding the circle of friends of the alliance, so as to serve the sharing and co-construction of the council members. In 2024, the Think Tank Alliance will make efforts in four aspects: strengthening the communication stickiness and vitality of the platform; increasing the leverage and influence of the alliance; enhancing international spreading power and discourse power of the platform; and promoting the sustainable development of the alliance.

In the keynote speech, with the theme of "Thought on the Construction of the Think Tanks for Science and Technology Innovation", Wu Jianmin discussed the important functions and development orientation of think tanks for science and technology innovation, as well as the focus on building high-level think tanks for science and technology innovation. With the theme of "Enhancing the Institutional Supply of the Data Element Market", Huang Chaochun discussed the connotation and characteristics of the data element market, as well as how to construct it. With the theme of "Experience Sharing of the Construction of National High-level Think Tanks by the Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences", Yang Hui, Vice President of the Institutes of Science and Development of Chinese Academy of Sciences, summarized the experience of exploring the construction of new high-level think tanks from the development orientation and research direction of think tanks. With the theme of "Center for the Promotion of Science of Serbia, China-Serbia Bridge of Science", Dobrivoje Lale Eric, Head of the Center for the Promotion of Science of Serbia, made suggestions on the cooperation between the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology and the Serbian Science Promotion Center.

Wu Jianmin pointed out in the keynote report that the role of think tanks for science and technology innovation is to be the assessor of the direction of science and technology development, the provider of decision-making consulting services, the guide of public opinion on science and technology development, the innovator of the methods and tools for decision-making, and the booster of openness and cooperation of science and technology. He proposed that in order to build high-quality think tanks for science and technology innovation, it is necessary to grasp the institutional characteristics of the think tanks for science and technology innovation; grasp the internal mechanism of the think tanks for science and technology innovation; complement the shortcomings in the operation of the thinks tanks for science and technology innovation; enrich the service functions of the think tanks for science and technology innovation; strengthen the growth support of the think tanks for science and technology innovation; Smooth the development path of the think tanks for science and technology innovation.

This meeting is the first in-person conference of the Think Tank Alliance after its establishment. It integrates "research and visit + academic seminar + work exchange", combining theory and practice in a coordinated manner. Representatives of the Think Tank Alliance conducted on-site research on the exhibition center of the national big data (Guizhou) comprehensive pilot zone and the National Major Science and Technology Infrastructure "500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope" ("China's Sky Eye"). In the discussion session, the council members of the Think Tank Alliance spoke freely on the construction of think tanks and the development of the Think Tank Alliance, namely that they brainstormed and offered suggestions for the next development of the Think Tank Alliance. Through online voting in the early stage, the meeting completed the selection of new council members and the council vice chair in 2023. After three years of development, the cohesion of the Think Tank Alliance has been strengthened; the influenced area by the platform has been expanding; the brand effect has become significant; the international influence has been improving; therefore, the Think Tank Alliance has become a non-governmental multilateral exchange and cooperation platform composed of 72 high-level think tanks from 12 countries. In the future, the Think Tank Alliance will continue to fulfill its mission of "Gathering global wisdom, serving innovation and development", and further promote the exchange, cooperation and collaborative innovation of think tanks at home and abroad.